Cover of Target Magazine1988 Annual Issue (June)
It's a copy that a cousin brother of mine owns. Years ago, I discovered this wonderful magazine only thanks to him. I was too young, about seven, when I first laid my hand on it. I never owned a single copy, my cousin used to do the buying. By the time I decided it was time for me to buy my first copy, the publishers had called quit on the magazine. Yes I did buy a copy of Teens Today. But never again.
On the cover image above, one can see Granny, Gardhab Das, Detective Moochwala with his Pooch and many other characters that made this magazine special .
-0-
Related post:
Cherry Blossom ad featuring Gavaskar from this magazine
Target was my favouritest magazine. I was really pissed off with the Living Media guys when they shut it down and came up with Teens Today. Initially my brother would bring home the copies and later I did my bit. But unfortunately none of my copies survive today. Lending them out to friends has its risks.
ReplyDeleteCould you do us Target lovers a favour? Scan the entire thing and put it up someplace where we can access it.
To get these shots of the magazine, I had to sneak into my cousin's house with a camera while he was not in town.
ReplyDeleteI have been tying to convince him to let me scan and upload it. He didn’t think it was a big deal that he has a copy!
Finally I do have his approval… but the only problem now is that the magazine is back in our hometown.
But, someday I will scan it up for all Target lovers.
please do - I had given my entire collection of target magazines for binding and someone flicked the lot
ReplyDeleteParents of some sold off entire collections to raddiwalla. What a loss!
ReplyDeletedr_janusx2,
will try..but it will take time.
i subscried to the magazine when the first issue came out and remained a reader for a long time ..abs loved detective moochwala and the first page of cartoons ...pls upload a copy , i have lost all of mine
ReplyDeleteAnony,
ReplyDeleteI think first page of cartoons was Ajit Ninan's 'Ajit's World'.
Will certainly try to upload the copy.
please please scan and put the target annual up! i've been looking for old issues but could never find them! by the way, i run a Comix Discussion Board of iNdIa (CDBi), a forum for Indian comic fans and artits.
ReplyDeleteHere is the link--
http://www.number21pix.in/cdbi/index.php
please check it out and contribute.
^^
ReplyDeleteWill try.
and even though you have that community link at a dozen other blogs...that link is expired.
Hi! today all of a sudden i remembered how i realllly love TARGET. The stories in them were brilliant, the illustrations were par excellance and the over all quality was brilliant - i wish someone would come up with a magazine like that again - i have a few issues but they were all some of the last few... then comes this terrible magazine called Teens Today which has absolutely no soul - will go search the streets of my city for older issues.
ReplyDeleteblotter,
ReplyDeleteTeens Today really was soulless. Hope you find some old issues.
I have so many fond memories of TARGET! I still remember the cover of the first TARGET issue dad had bought for me from the newsstand. I remember crying when dad cut out a section from one of the pages - it was the subscription form! I didn't know what subscription meant!
ReplyDeleteI thanked my father for the subscription that continued for many years!
Deepanjan, thanks for sharing those wonderful memories! I was just too young when the first issue came out. I later discovered the joys of this magazine thanks to an older cousin of mine.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the fact that it was bought long ago in Kashmir, just before our families had to move out, it's quite a miracle that this particular magazine issue is still around.
I used to love reading target, though the comic snippets copied from 'mad' comics, but credited to an Indian artist really annoyed me
ReplyDeleteYeah but who knew then!
ReplyDeleteI particularly remember a funny strip in an issue in which the snippet was themed on misadventures of a blood thirsty Dracula. The poor guy ends up getting Aids. That surely was 'Mad'.
Hi! I'm Amol from Mumbai. In my childhood days, since I was introduced to TARGET IN 1990, I was hooked to it and subscribed it everytime till the last issue in 1995. Today I have preserved about 45 issues of TARGET. I would like to share them with you. What should I do ?
ReplyDeleteHi Amol!
DeleteAm in Mumbai too.. My sister is a big fan and if hope to gift her as many target editions as I can.
I am willing to scan and make them available online for the fans out there.
Hi Amol,
ReplyDeletethanks for generously offering to share your collection. You must have noticed a lot of people are eagerly waiting to get their hands on old issues. You can scan them up and email them to me. You can find my email here.
Hi Amol, I and all the old readers of Target will we thankfull to you for your great offer of sharing old issues with us. If you don't have facility or time to scan all copies I may help yo, Please email your address to me I'll try to send someone to collect magazines from you and I promise to return all the issues in the same coditions back to you as soon as I scan them and upload for others.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Hello Dr. Soni. Since somehow your profile is not enabled (your name appears in black without any hyperlink), Please send your email address to amolghadi@gmail.com so that I would be able to send you my POSTAL address.
ReplyDeleteHi! It was so good seeing so many Target lovers here. Target was SO much more than just another magazine! Brings back fond memories of Ajit Ninan's drawings and Vatsala Kaul's write ups. I would read it cover to cover and re-read them months later! Thanks to my cousin who was a target enthusiast, I got hooked to Target. I remember being heartbroken when Teens Today began and what a foolish piece of journalism that was! They left out everything that made target so good and put in glossy pages with worthless stuff.
ReplyDeleteLong summer holidays, nimub paani and Target. Heaven :)
Thanks for sharing your memories, Chandni.
ReplyDeleteLong winters, Kehwa and Target. Heaven :)
Hey, Vinayak, I waited for so long for Dr. Soni to contact me using my email address but he hasn't yet. The problem with me is that I don't have time or access to a scanner. Dr. Soni's help would have been great as he too was from Mumbai and he had displayed the enthusiasm to scan all the copies for us. Do you have his e-mail address ? Or anybody's who is a Target-Enthusiast AND FROM MUMBAI and willing to scan the copies?
ReplyDeleteFunny World
ReplyDeleteGardhab Das
Tegrat
Ghost Squad
And my month was made.
Ofc there were other stuff too, but I don't remember now. Have to check my worn out closet in the garage. Last time I was about to take out my car, saw a Enid Blyton Famous Five (Five Go Down TO The Sea)lying under it, guess it may have a few Targets too. Hope it does!!!
I remember Tegrat! The name was a Palindrome of T A R G E T. And I hope you find some.
ReplyDeleteHi, I am Yashodhara Datar, I stay in Mumbai and I happen to have the time and a scanner, now the question is would you trust me with your collection?
ReplyDeletemy email id is yashodhara.datar@gmail.com I stay in Dadar and I am volunteering because a friend of mine is getting married and Target was her favourite. I want to give them as a wedding gift.
It would be realy great if you contacted me.
Wow! My brother used to subscribe this, and his article even publiched during one o the contests. I still use the term 'Gardabhdas' for fool :)Would love to see the old issues. Our's gone to raddiwala as well!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, even I hated Teens Today. It was not even 1% of what TARGET was!
I had all the target magazines. My mom sold it all to raddiwala for 120 rupee @2Rs a kilo. The collection included almost all tinkles and amar chitra katha comics.
ReplyDeleteThat was 20 years ago. I still can't get over it :(
I had every issue from the first till 1994 circa. When I returned home from abroad ten years ago, I found them missing! (Again mum guilty) I felt that I had lost my childhood. (sob)
ReplyDeleteFrom Suraj Formerly Bombay, now Cochin.
hi,
ReplyDeletecan someone please sell me at least one target magazine? it was my brother's favourite and i want to gift it to him on his birthday.
please let me know if u can! I would hugely appreciate it!
sal
I too have lovely memories of reading Target when I was a kid! I've been looking for a copy everywhere and by sheer luck I found one for sale in ebay for 150 bucks! So happy I got it! I'll scan and make it available for all Target fans soon! :)
ReplyDeleteWOW. Any luck with the scans. I am in Kolkata and am willing to help with scanning or making arrangements. I am serious about having a digital copies available.
ReplyDeleteHello Vinayak,
ReplyDeleteThis is my first comment here though we interact by mail & fb. Actually even till date i a yet to encounter a Diary like Target Diary, i had a few Diaries till they stopped printing them , alas i dont have with me anymore , but the quality and content, graphics can be compared to none. Infact after a lot of search for a quality diary here , i ended up with India Today's companion Diary, again a living media product.
Hi! This is Amol (see above) here again. Finally I made contact with Yashodhara (see above) and then I found a fellow Targetter on Facebook, Ayan Sarbadhikari who too has a really good collection of Targets. We both have about 153 issues when combined together starting with April 1983 till the last issue of September 1995. We will just be about to start scanning our respective collections and then upload it for all the Target-fans out there. We are just looking for all those individuals who have their respective collections and can complement our collection. i.e. Fill in the blanks for us...ie. scan only those issues which I and Ayan don't have.
ReplyDeleteAnybody interested can contact me on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/AmolGhdgnkr
Hello Amol !
DeleteCan you give a proper link to your FB account, or your email ID? The fb link is a bit confusing as there are several "Amol Ghadigaonkar" profiles. I have this target annual 88 and a Funny world collection, painstakingly snapped on camera,since i dont have a scanner; and a Moochwala collection scan I got on the net. If you contact me at pathomitra@gmail.com,you can get those. I really miss those Targets of my childhood sacrified,like many others, to the raddiwala :-(
This blog is really great,Vinayak !!! I have been a long time lurker,and have bookmarked this since long, but it took Target to make me comment for the first time !