"Shaikshanik Sandarbh" is a bimonthly on science and education, published in Marathi, since August 1999. The magazine is essentially aimed at everyone interested in ‘understanding’ science and inculcating the spirit of scientific enquiry. The specific target audience of the magazine is school teachers and students at high school level. It is not a popular science magazine aimed at publishing science based articles in Marathi language, but it is a magazine aimed at helping people in Maharashtra understand and appreciate science.
The magazine is owned by ‘Palakneeti Pariwar’, a well established and respected NGO in Pune. It is published and distributed by ‘Sandarbh Society’, which is a registered public trust and a sister-organization of ‘Palakneeti Pariwar’. The editors as well as writers of the magazine work on a purely voluntary basis with no remuneration. Administrative matters are handled by just two honorary members from Sandarbh team, whose remuneration barely covers their costs. The cover price and subscription of the magazine have been decided not on the basis of the actual cost incurred but on the basis of the paying capacity of the main target audience, which is primarily in the rural and semi-urban areas of Maharashtra. In spite of the voluntary nature of the operation, we are proud to say that in the past almost 10 years, not a single issue has been missed or unduly delayed, or has been curtailed in terms of number of pages or quality of production. The current print order is of 1000, with about 600 subscribers. Numerous teachers, students as well as members of general public spread all over Maharashtra and also in a few adjacent states read the magazine and are benefiting immensely from it.
Editorial Team:
- Neelima Sahasrabuddhe
- Dr. Priyadarshini Karve
- Nagesh Mone
- Dr. Sanjeevani Kulkarni
- Yashashree Punekar
- Jyoti Deshpande
- Amalendu Soman
So far the magazine has received support and financial assistance from various organizations such as ‘Eklavya’ (M.P.), ‘Prayas’, Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Appropriate Rural Technology Institute, Association for India’s Development (USA), Government of India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests, UNICEF ‘Our School’ Project in Yawatmal and Chandrapur Districts, as well as a number of individual volunteers and donors. Our efforts have been appreciated and actively supported by the likes of Dr. Jayant Narlikar, Dr. Naresh Dadhich, Dr. Arwind Gupta, and Dr. A.D. Karve.