Probashi started as a small printed magazine brought out for the members of the Durga Puja and Cultural Association, Sector 37, Faridabad, Haryana, India. It did not have any high ambition, but was meant to be a forum for the members for creative writing . But when the articles started pouring in, we were all in for a pleasant surprise. The quality of the articles were excellent. And as Probashi got traction we started getting write-ups from a number of people beyond the confines of the club.

It was now time to take a call – Could we think of a bigger audience and writer base. And the club decided to increase its reach, which meant the print circulation went up from 50 to about 500 copies in phases. And Probashi found new geographies, with the magazine being couriered to many cities across the country.

However for a fledgling club it was a difficult logistical exercise to afford the courier and print charges and the requisite manpower to manage the logistics for an increasing readership base. And in 2015, Probashi went online primarily to cut costs and also to increase reach.

And as we have matured our focus which started with Bengal and Bengalies has become increasingly cosmopolitan and we touch people and events across India and the globe.

We are proud of this transition to a bigger stage. However this brings more responsibility, for we have to keep the quality and creativity of the articles published to be of high quality. We need to admit that we do not succeed always, but we are learning and will try to be more topical as we go along.

But this endeavour would not have been possible without our readership base. Our readers are critical but encouraging. They can sometimes be severely critical , but at no point have they threatened to leave us . What more can a publication ask for. And as is for our readers we also get an excellent group of writers, who otherwise hold regular day time jobs, but when they hold the pen and write they can be very very good. We would encourage amateur /established writers to send in articles for publication in Probashi.

Maybe it is providence that in a short while Probashi has been able to garner such a loyal reader base. It intends to retain its small town sensibilities but is willing to learn the big city elan. It will try to keep the balance, and if it falters we know the readers and well wishers are always there to give a helping hand.