Assamese children’s magazines find new home in global digital archive

Guwahati: Two of Assam’s most influential children’s magazines, Mouchak and Notun Aabiskar, are now part of a digital archive at the University of California. This project, completed in collaboration with Tezpur University, preserves decades of literary and scientific content for academic study and international research.

First launched in April 1984, Mouchak has served as a cornerstone of Assamese youth literature for over forty years. Under the guidance of editor Shantanu Tamuli, affectionately known as Mouchak Mama, both magazines cultivated a love for creative writing and scientific inquiry among young readers. These publications have helped launch the careers of numerous writers while setting new standards for the genre.

Tamuli, who received the Sahitya Akademi Award for Children’s Literature in 2012, noted that the consistent quality and long history of these magazines make them significant subjects for comparative academic study. By digitizing these works, the universities have ensured that this unique cultural archive remains accessible to researchers globally.