Rachana Yadav is the Managing Director of Hans Magazine, one of the oldest and most celebrated literary magazines of the country. She is also a professional Kathak dancer and choreographer. She founded the Rachana Yadav Kathak Studio in Gurgaon, with a performing repertory as well as a training wing with more than 50 students. In 2013, following the passing of her father Rajendra Yadav, celebrated Hindi author and editor, Yadav took over as the Managing Director of Hans, the largest Hindi literary magazine in India, with a wide and diverse readership. As of today, she manages both of these professions. She is choreographing and actively performing. With her literary background, she is able to blend contemporary literature into her choreography, which has helped her carve a special niche for herself in the field of performing arts.
In an exclusive interview with Jyoti Jha; Sr. Editor, Today Magazine the veteran publisher talks about the various aspects of literary magazines along with the various innovations in literary magazines.
Q.1 How would you describe your responsibility of carrying the legacy of Hans Magazine as a Managing Director?
RY: I see it as a huge responsibility! Although the legacy was started by one of the finest and legendary authors Munshi Premchand, with the purpose and objective of giving voice to the marginalized section of society and the nation, in the times of the National Movement, it faded away after his demise. However, when my father Rajendra Yadav revived the magazine, he maintained the original purpose and objective of the magazine. He ran the magazine consistently for 38 years where a marginalized section was given a voice to write about social injustices and inequality through fiction and articles. The magazine has held on to this principle and hence has been able to keep itself uniquely sustainable and consistent.
Movements initiated by Hans Magazine have given rise to women's writing and Dalit writing, giving rise to many women writers and Dalit writers. The onset of social media platforms and digitalization has transformed the literary landscape tremendously, but the print medium will always hold its essence. Although my line of career is Dance Art Form, I have experienced and imbibed literature up close, and seeing so many young talents today, I feel they should get a platform to express themselves and find their literary space in the forefront. From ‘Best Story Awards’ (initiated by my father) to a diversified 11 categories in the Hans Literature Festival (Hans Sahityotsav), the winning title of ‘The Hans Awards’ helps open many avenues for new writers. Hindi writers have considerably low exposure, opportunities, and recognition as compared to English writers. Through the Festival, we try to bridge that gap where Hindi and other regional/vernacular/local languages become the focus point. So, my responsibility of running and managing Hans Magazine goes beyond legacy, which of course has its significance and will always remain an integral part of the process. However, the roles and responsibilities are evolving and so is the need to nurture Hindi literature. 
Q.2 When we speak of legacy, being the daughter of celebrated writers Rajendra Yadav and Mannu Bhandari, how has this shaped your literary inclination and enthusiasm?
RY: Although I have grown up in a literature-rich environment, deep down I never carried the voice of an active writer. We were a single-unit family with my parents having an extended family of their writer friends like Mohan Rakesh, Kamleshwar ji, and many more, hence I was not unfamiliar with the literature. Coming from an English medium, I was not so intensively involved with the Hindi language, and when I moved to the profession of Dance, I was further distanced from it. When I became a part of Hans Magazine, it didn’t take me long to acclimatize to the setup and grasp the nuances of Hindi literature as it was already in my subconscious and simply found a way to resurface. I haven’t read vast Hindi literature, but I try to read as much as time permits. Although I do struggle at times to find certain words while fluently communicating in Hindi, I am considerably good at the language. It aligns with my work commitments where my understanding of Hindi literature and its process is more important than my command over the language. Mr Sanjay Sahai, our Editor at Hans Magazine takes care of the rich content that the magazine generates year after year. My marketing skills from my previous career path helped me create and expand the outreach of my literary products. I have a dedicated team at Hans for many years now and that’s how we have been able to manage and sustain so far so well.
Q.3 English literary magazines have taken over the Indian literary landscape. What has led to the diminishing existence of Hindi literary magazines in a country known for its rich heritage of Hindi literature? What aspects have led to the declining popularity of literary magazines?
RY: Speaking about Magazines in general and specifically Hindi magazines, I would say the medium of reading has moved to online/digital platforms. We are strictly a print and digital magazine both, and we ensure that we provide our readers, with their preferred choice of reading experience. The OTT and Social media have had a huge impact on literature in terms of language, content, and end reader. People often confuse visual storytelling (OTT content) with literature. Visual storytelling is more appealing for the audience and their reading habit is declining. Earlier we used to read newspapers and that inculcated the habit of reading from the print medium. Now everything is available online, as such, print media has taken a huge hit. Having been a part of Hans for a long time now, I have realized that it is only a myth that the English language is more popular than Hindi or regional languages. It is more of a ‘big city phenomenon’ where most big cities are social media centered and communication is English-based. When we move towards smaller regions and towns, Hindi and regional belts, people do speak other languages and they even prefer reading in those languages, but the problem lies in how to reach out to them. The distribution channel had a great negative impact during COVID-19 when many local vendors and hawkers switched to other professions for survival. However, the scary part is that even after the pandemic subsided, the trend did not change. This change from print to digital was inevitable, but the process would have been slower if COVID-19 had not accelerated it.
Moreover, in the new age of writers, the mindset is also changing. The writing has become more OTT-oriented rather than creating a fine literary piece of high quality. People now prefer popularity over literary value. It has also affected the language which is different from good literary expression. Hans is a Pan India Magazine and unlike many Hindi magazines that have closed (Kadambini, Sarika, etc.), it is still able to maintain its presence in almost all regions.
Q.4: You have also started Hans Vani, an audio magazine which is one of the first of its kind in India. Are audio magazines going to overshadow the essence of regular magazines?
RY: Hans Audio is a part of our growth process to keep up with the evolving needs. There are two approaches to any situation- either sit and crib or move with it. Through ‘Hans Vani’, we give options to readers, bringing to them, good literature in their preferred format and helping create interest in reading. The idea originated during COVID-19 when a radical shift in the print medium was happening. We did run it for a year and a half or so, but we realized it was more like a ‘chicken and egg situation’, requiring resources and funding to sustain. We experimented a lot and are still struggling on certain fronts, but in the future, I would like to revive that and overcome these challenges. We aim to bring more user-friendly formats in the future.
Q.5: You have started Hans English to have a series of English translations of the best works of Hans. How far has this initiative helped in enriching Hindi literature at a time when the readership of magazines has fallen drastically?
RY: The original idea was to have Hans English like Hans Hindi, however, we realized that it would require another team and added expenses which seemed cumbersome at that time and hence we ventured into English translations. Our archives are rich (Krishna Shobti, and Bhishm Sahani, to name some of all the big writers who have written for Hans). We started translating those stories in parts/batches and released them as Hans English. We realized that if it was a collection of stories, then a magazine wouldn’t suffice as the best format for it. The magazine has a limited shelf life, so we came up with a book format. We also came up with part two later and currently, part 3 is a work in progress. Our distribution channels and network are Hindi-centered and for English books, we are reaching out to English publishers so that the rich literary pieces find a medium to reach to the readers as seamlessly as possible. I am only associated with Hans part-time as I am mostly occupied with my dance institute, so at times, many processes get delayed.
Q.6: As a professional Kathak dancer and choreographer, how would you describe the experience of blending your choreographies into contemporary literature?
RY: I am a Kathak Dancer which is a Traditional Art Form, but the themes that I take up for my choreographies are not particularly traditional. Traditional kathak is based mostly on mythological stories, but I have grown up in a completely non-religious environment. All my mythological knowledge is either gained from school or sometimes as storytelling from my mother, or from Sriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra where Ramleela used to be a very beautiful production. Once I started choreographing, my ideas usually originated from my experiences, feelings, my approach to circumstances, observations, particular phenomena, etc. So, my themes were drawn from my current life experiences, so they were contemporary. Also, my training has been under Aditi Mangaldas (my guru) who approaches this dance form with a contemporary framework which is of course rooted in tradition. My dance themes are hence more centered around the contemporary environment.
For my choreography, I required texts that I tried to find in Mythologies, Mirabai ke Pad, Kabirdas ke Dohe, Sanskrit shlokas, etc. There are times when I do not have access to relevant content from these traditional sources, that’s when I started looking for text in contemporary literature. I would also write some texts at times. Because of Hans, I have access to great literature and that’s how I could incorporate contemporary literature into my dance art form.
Q.7: What would be your suggestion to literary enthusiasts to reignite their interest in literary magazines?
RY: By Literary enthusiasts, I assume we are referring to people interested in literature, reading, or writing. The first thing that a writer should do is read! The earlier writers used to read hundreds of books and write one, hence, reading is very important. Reading some original works, especially from young voices, is a unique experience that Hans provides its readers. Literary enthusiasts should read books and especially magazines to know about young voices and new writers. It is very important to read other people’s writing. To be a writer you need to be a reader.
