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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| A short history of Life: Afghanistan's lost magazine | A short history of Life: Afghanistan's lost magazine |
| (2 days later) | |
| Bright, busy and colourful, newly digitised pages of Zhvandun magazine - Life, in English - reveal the aspirations of Afghanistan's elite during decades of political and social change. | Bright, busy and colourful, newly digitised pages of Zhvandun magazine - Life, in English - reveal the aspirations of Afghanistan's elite during decades of political and social change. |
| It rolled off presses through most of the second half of the 20th Century, mixing articles on global affairs, society and history with fun stuff on film stars and fashion. | It rolled off presses through most of the second half of the 20th Century, mixing articles on global affairs, society and history with fun stuff on film stars and fashion. |
| Think, perhaps, of Time magazine with added poetry and short stories. | Think, perhaps, of Time magazine with added poetry and short stories. |
| Over five politically tumultuous decades the pages of Zhvandun mirrored the upheavals of the time. But they also captured something more fragile - the ideals and dreams of their readers. | Over five politically tumultuous decades the pages of Zhvandun mirrored the upheavals of the time. But they also captured something more fragile - the ideals and dreams of their readers. |
| Zhvandun was produced for the few in a country where the great majority were illiterate. | Zhvandun was produced for the few in a country where the great majority were illiterate. |
| Its authors and readership lived mainly in Kabul. They were progressive people, with time and resources to think about which film to see at the cinema or how to alter a hemline. | Its authors and readership lived mainly in Kabul. They were progressive people, with time and resources to think about which film to see at the cinema or how to alter a hemline. |
| Zhvandun was on the more frivolous side of a host of magazines produced in Afghanistan from the late 1920s onwards. | Zhvandun was on the more frivolous side of a host of magazines produced in Afghanistan from the late 1920s onwards. |
| Kabul magazine was the vehicle of the most celebrated Afghan writers and thinkers. | Kabul magazine was the vehicle of the most celebrated Afghan writers and thinkers. |
| Adab (Culture) was the periodical of Kabul University, while Children's Companion (Kamkayano Anis) was full of puzzles and stories. | Adab (Culture) was the periodical of Kabul University, while Children's Companion (Kamkayano Anis) was full of puzzles and stories. |
| Zhvandun arrived in 1949, a momentous year in the region. The old European empires were crumbling in the wake of World War Two. | Zhvandun arrived in 1949, a momentous year in the region. The old European empires were crumbling in the wake of World War Two. |
| Afghanistan's neighbours, India, Pakistan and Iran, were crucibles of new post-colonial thinking. | Afghanistan's neighbours, India, Pakistan and Iran, were crucibles of new post-colonial thinking. |
| Afghanistan had a modern state to build and at least some money in the bank. | Afghanistan had a modern state to build and at least some money in the bank. |
| King Zahir invited many foreign advisers to help him evolve his vision and sought support from both the United States and the Soviet Union. | King Zahir invited many foreign advisers to help him evolve his vision and sought support from both the United States and the Soviet Union. |
| The coming of Ariana Airlines in 1955 connected Afghanistan to destinations across half the world. | The coming of Ariana Airlines in 1955 connected Afghanistan to destinations across half the world. |
| Its most famous route was from Kabul to Frankfurt by way of Tehran, Damascus, Beirut and Ankara. It was called the Marco Polo route, after the 13th Century Italian traveller. | Its most famous route was from Kabul to Frankfurt by way of Tehran, Damascus, Beirut and Ankara. It was called the Marco Polo route, after the 13th Century Italian traveller. |
| Internally, Afghan cities that were separated by mountains and deserts became linked by regular flights. | Internally, Afghan cities that were separated by mountains and deserts became linked by regular flights. |
| Advertisements creep into Zhvandun in the 1960s. | Advertisements creep into Zhvandun in the 1960s. |
| Cars, fridges, baby milk - such items would have been wildly beyond the reach of many, but for a few they represented the allure of lifestyle revolution, especially for women. | Cars, fridges, baby milk - such items would have been wildly beyond the reach of many, but for a few they represented the allure of lifestyle revolution, especially for women. |
| King Zahir's cousin Mohammed Daoud Khan deposed him in 1973. | King Zahir's cousin Mohammed Daoud Khan deposed him in 1973. |
| Casting aside centuries of tradition, he declared himself not king but president of a new republic. | Casting aside centuries of tradition, he declared himself not king but president of a new republic. |
| It's interesting to see the rise of local advertisements in Zhvandun during this period as Daoud Khan encouraged Afghan factories and services. | It's interesting to see the rise of local advertisements in Zhvandun during this period as Daoud Khan encouraged Afghan factories and services. |
| But Afghanistan seethed with new political ideas and rivalries and Daoud Khan was swept away himself by a group of communist army officers in 1978. | But Afghanistan seethed with new political ideas and rivalries and Daoud Khan was swept away himself by a group of communist army officers in 1978. |
| Known in Afghanistan as the Saur Revolution, this revolt heralded the generation of war that reverberates to this day. | Known in Afghanistan as the Saur Revolution, this revolt heralded the generation of war that reverberates to this day. |
| Commercial advertisements disappeared with the Soviet invasion of 1979. | Commercial advertisements disappeared with the Soviet invasion of 1979. |
| But Zhvandun continued to mirror dreams of a different sort. | But Zhvandun continued to mirror dreams of a different sort. |
| Soviet film stars replaced Hollywood. Farm machinery appeared instead of tape recorders and fridges. | Soviet film stars replaced Hollywood. Farm machinery appeared instead of tape recorders and fridges. |
| We find reflections even of the Soviet preoccupation with utopias. | We find reflections even of the Soviet preoccupation with utopias. |
| Yet, for all the depictions of Lenin and gymnastics teams, there is something similar about the United States and the Soviet Union in their visions of modernity as revealed in Zhvandun. | Yet, for all the depictions of Lenin and gymnastics teams, there is something similar about the United States and the Soviet Union in their visions of modernity as revealed in Zhvandun. |
| Zhvandun, Kabul and the other magazine titles all ceased publication after the Soviet defeat in the 1990s. | Zhvandun, Kabul and the other magazine titles all ceased publication after the Soviet defeat in the 1990s. |
| Those were chaotic times and many writers, printers and readers fled the country. | Those were chaotic times and many writers, printers and readers fled the country. |
| The rise of the Taliban meant that many never returned and this valuable social record disappeared. | The rise of the Taliban meant that many never returned and this valuable social record disappeared. |
| But the Afghan journals were not the sort a reader might casually throw away. Collectors and libraries kept them carefully. | But the Afghan journals were not the sort a reader might casually throw away. Collectors and libraries kept them carefully. |
| The US Library of Congress stored a near complete set across the border in Pakistan. | The US Library of Congress stored a near complete set across the border in Pakistan. |
| Hundreds of these magazines have now been digitised in partnership with the Carnegie Corporation of New York, as part of the World Digital Library. | |
| They can be explored here - or read about the Afghanistan Project. | They can be explored here - or read about the Afghanistan Project. |
| It's hard to find the paper copies now, but they still turn up in street markets from time to time. | It's hard to find the paper copies now, but they still turn up in street markets from time to time. |
| All images reproduced courtesy of the Library of Congress (World Digital Library) and the philanthropic foundation Carnegie Corporation of New York | All images reproduced courtesy of the Library of Congress (World Digital Library) and the philanthropic foundation Carnegie Corporation of New York |