It was around 1936 that the Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan brought out a
special number on Deepavali day. With a large-size format and glazed paper, it was not only special with regard to articles but also with illustrations and photographs. As a matter of fact, the special numbers of periodicals proved to be a launching pad for professional photography for magazine publication in Tamil. The musicians photographed could not be called photogenic but the photographs were taken when they were immersed in their singing and evoked
solemnity. It was so with dancers.
Another development was painstakingly done line drawings of South Indian temples. Not just the outer appearance but vignettes of the corridors and the shrines. The drawings created a special effect and an artist with the pseudonym of Shilpi specialised in the temple series. In his drawings, he would invariably include a human being — a devotee doing the perambulation, or the priest or someone paying obeisance. The ads from a photographer, G K Vale, featured the leading singers in colour. They were outstanding portraits. Now it has become a convention with all periodicals and even newspapers to bring out at least one special number in a year.
Special numbers by virtue of the format and bulk afford space for more detailed
articles and also for fiction of greater length than the normal short stories. Many writers reserve their special stories for these numbers. (Special numbers from
dailies rely more on topical material rather than articles needing reflection and discussion.) Some of the finest pieces were written by the late C Subramaniam, R K Shanmugam Chettiar and of course the Tamil scholars U V Swaminatha Iyer, Ma Po Sivagnana Gramani and Vaiyapuri Pillai. The accent was universal and lasting rather than political.
Some writers come to be recognised as ‘Malar Writers.’ (Malar is the term for special numbers. Literally, it means a flower but the rationale is that a regular issue of a magazine is called Idazh, meaning a petal.) Malar writers don’t make frequent appearances and so becoming one could be the penultimate step to a writer going into oblivion.
Special numbers outside the journalistic world are also brought out on men of exceptional achievement. The numbers are usually edited by knowledgeable admirers. The better ones elaborate on the achievements of the eminent person. Two recent publications deserve mention. Both are about former chief ministers of Tamil Nadu. One is on Kamraj, authored by Gopanna. The other is the birth centenary number on the much-beloved Anna (C N Annadurai), edited by the multifaceted vice-chancellor of the Tamil University, Dr M Rajendran. Both contain a large number of rare photographs. Both leaders stand out by their selflessness, spirit of service and being totally free of avarice. Kamraj had a longer and national political life and naturally the texts on the different aspects of the leader dwell on varied areas. Anna’s active political life was confined to Tamil Nadu and he hardly had two years as chief minister before cancer claimed him.
His creative writing was entirely satirical and so the editor must have had difficulty in choosing excerpts. Both numbers are expertly produced. In editing a special number of a person held to be the mentor of the current ruling political party, exaggerations are the main pitfall but Rajendran deftly charts out his passage. In special numbers of personalities, the overall thrust should be at credibility and in this, both succeed. They are priced at Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 respectively.
In 1977, the government periodical Tamil Arasu brought out a special number by devoting the whole issue to the Bengali writer Saratchandra Chatterjee. Priced at half a rupee a copy, the special number was a collector’s item.