Summary
Elixir was started by Jadavpur University students in 2017
The magazine carries opinion pieces, reviews, travelogues, and guest columns in English, Bengali and Hindi
Movie reviews and travelogues to fiction — Elixir, a monthly magazine run by college students, has something for all.
A brainchild of 11 students of Jadavpur University, the magazine was launched on August 16, 2017, to fuel their collective craving for writing. It publishes articles in English, Bengali and Hindi. Elixir turned four this year and published its 50th issue in September.
The team
More than 15 students from Jadavpur University, Bethune College, Loreto College, University of Engineering and Management (UEM), University of Kalyani, St. Thomas College of Engineering and Technology, and Raja Peary Mohan College, Uttarpara, and several other colleges work for the magazine at present.
The core team includes Shinjini Mukherjee, a 2021 Economics postgraduate student of Jadavpur University; Adarsh Agarwal, a third-year Economics student of Jadavpur University; Pramit Sarkar, a 2021 Bengali postgraduate student of Jadavpur University; Madhurima Roychowdhury and Ashabari Ray, both 2021 English postgraduate students of University of Kalyani.
(L-R) Shinjini Mukherjee, Adarsh Agarwal, Madhurima Roychowdhury, Ashabari Ray and Pramit Sarkar. Elixir
“My journey with Elixir has been one of consistent progress. I went from designing posters to designing the magazine. Now I not only edit videos but also interview people. I started working for Elixir just before the lockdown. It helped me pull through the pandemic. We are free to express our thoughts because the publication is entirely run by students,” Adarsh said.
The articles are first segregated into different sections and then sent to the editing team. Interviews are transcribed and the illustration team provides artwork to go with the write-ups. The designing team designs the entire magazine.
The content
The magazine consists of prose, poetry, feature articles, film reviews, book reviews, articles on web series, interviews as well as travelogues. The guest column gives space to celebrities and faculty members like Swapan Bhattacharya, professor of Computer Science and Engineering, Jadavpur University, and social activist and singer Piya Chakraborty.
“One of the highlights of Elixir is our effort to share stories of those behind the scenes. For example, we once published the story of one of our member’s domestic help and another time we wrote about a piano mechanic,” said Shinjini, one of the founding members.
The Startup Tale column supports small businesses around the country, giving them the opportunity to reach out to more people. “In our June 2021 issue, we wrote about Choco Ahoy, a food start-up by Amrita Bharti Chatterjee, a 2020 postgraduate student of Symbiosis Institute. Our October issue features Threads and More, a handmade jewellery startup by 23-year-old Anima Basak,” Shinjini said.
October issue
The latest issue of Elixir has five articles in English, three articles in Bengali and one in Hindi — A Dreadful Song for a Dreadful Lord, a poem by Rusha Chowdhury, a third-year English student of Jadavpur University; and E Bangali shey Bangali noy, a non-fiction article by Sujjalita Patra, a 2011 Economics graduate of Jadavpur University. The magazine also features Mohan Das, who runs a roadside bookstall in Ballygunge and writes poetry in his free time, a book review of Dinesh Gupter Revolver by Sanmatrananda Sovon, and an analytical write-up on humour in the Geekology section. The guest column is a travelogue of Shillong by Sharmila Majumdar, professor of English at Kalyani University.
An online announcement is made (https://elixir793.wordpress.com/) at the end of each month. You need to mail (teamelixirmagazine@gmail.com) your article by the 10th of the next month.
Last updated on 02 Nov 2021
