(The following is a post by Akhila Gunturu, Junior Fellow, Asian Division, Summer 2024)
The Asian Division at the Library of Congress houses a large number of microfiche in the languages of Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka as part of the broader South Asian Collection. Spanning over 300,000 individual sheets, the topics of these titles on microfiche are diverse, ranging from regional labor statistics to literary magazines.
This summer, as a Junior Fellow, I worked on performing an inventory of the serials on microfiche in the South Asian Collection. This process began with organizing the microfiche sheets chronologically and making note of any problems, such as missing sheets, duplicate sheets, gaps between the issues, or changes in the levels of enumeration. These problems are not uncommon in serials on microfiche. Then, I updated the holding and item records for each title in the Library’s Integrated Library System, Voyager. The work undertaken was significant from an access and discoverability perspective. An updated, accurate holding record confirms what issues are available and shows that information on the Library’s online catalog, making requesting materials a smoother process for patrons. Microfiche from the South Asian Collection is accessible through the Asian Reading Room. There, a patron can use a microform reader to view, save, or print the content.
During my ten-week fellowship at the Library, I inventoried over 100 titles, totaling over 3,000 sheets of microfiche in languages such as Bengali, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, Punjabi, Sinhalese, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, and other regional languages.
Working with these titles made me realize that it is not necessary to be a South Asia specialist to engage with this rich collection. I came into this summer with advanced speaking and rudimentary reading knowledge of Telugu and was able to test those skills by looking at microfiche titles in Telugu in the Asian Reading Room. This was a challenge, as the majority of the Telugu titles I looked at were too advanced for my reading level, such as a yearly Hindu almanac (Pallaki … paṅcāṅgaṃ) or a monthly magazine on the Andhra Pradesh Teachers Union (Aikya upādhyāya). However, other material in the collection was more accessible. Of particular interest to me were the advertisements in Iṇḍiyā Tuḍē: Vārṣika Sāhitya Sañcika (India Today: Annual Literary Issue), an annual Indian Telugu-language serial containing works representing trends in contemporary Telugu literature. The advertisements in this serial, hereafter referred to as Vārṣika Sāhitya Sañcika, caught my eye as they featured bold typefaces and art that were easier for me to read. These advertisements gave me insight into the audience of the serial, along with information about the products and services available during the 1990s.
In the remainder of this post, drawing on my knowledge, based on personal experience, of the economic and social conditions of the Telugu-speaking regions of India in the 1990s, I will examine advertisements from the 1994 issue of Vārṣika Sāhitya Sañcika in-depth in hopes that it will inspire readers of this blog without advanced subject or language knowledge to interact with the microfiche in the South Asian collection.
When looking at the 1994 issue of Vārṣika Sāhitya Sañcika, I found that it contains 42 advertisements—30 in Telugu and 12 in English. The serial record contains no other information about the publishing date beyond the year. However, two key advertisements, one pictured below (Image 3), wishing readers a happy Sankranti, highlight that the issue was published before January 15. Sankranti is a Hindu festival typically celebrated on January 14 or 15, depending on the year.
A house advertisement (Image 4) offering a special subscription rate until February 28 reinforces the likelihood that the issue was published in the first month of the year. These examples suggest that advertisements provide clues to enable more precise dating of issues of this serial and in that way provide readers information about the larger historical context surrounding the content published.
Besides this, advertisements point to probable readers of the serial. The presence of English-language advertising suggests that the possible audience for Vārṣika Sāhitya Sañcika was an educated middle and upper middle-class group. English language education in India was implemented under British rule to serve colonial interests, establishing implications of prestige and power for the language. In the 1990s, it was associated with privileged middle, upper middle-class, and elite groups. While English language education is more widespread in the 21st century in India, it remains closely tied to social mobility and elite status. Most of the products advertised in English in Vārṣika Sāhitya Sañcika emphasize that they adhere to high quality international and Indian standards, such as Modi Continental’s tires, pictured below (Image 5). The products and services advertised in English range from switches to milk to Air India’s Boeing 747 DASH 400. The latter advertisement markets the Boeing 747 DASH 400 as a luxury travel experience (Image 6). This is an interesting marketing tactic considering the Indian government’s 1994 decision to allow private airlines to run scheduled flights. Air India, at that point, was a nationalized airline. In 1994, the airline began to struggle financially until its eventual sale to the Tata Group in 2021. The advertisement in Vārṣika Sāhitya Sañcika can be interpreted as Air India’s attempt to set itself apart from competition as it began its financial difficulties.
Through advertisements, one can also learn about the economic situation in India at a particular moment. The biggest advertisement category in the serial was reserved for electronics and home appliances, like refrigerators, air conditioners, light switches, and televisions. These advertisements for personal and household appliances again hint at a middle and upper-middle-class audience. These classes, due to the transition to free market policies in India in the 1990s, became more defined by consumption behavior during a time when such products remained inaccessible to lower classes. However, many of the advertised companies and appliances are more available and remain well known in India today. An example of this is the Godrej Frost Free Fridge, pictured below (Image 7). Godrej is still known for making refrigerators, air conditioners, and other appliances.
By delving into advertisements in a single issue of Vārṣika Sāhitya Sañcika, I hope to have suggested some possibilities for research within the microfiche of the South Asian Collection. I also hope that the numerous updated records for serials on microfiche that I have worked on during my Junior Fellowship will enhance accessibility and encourage exploration of this robust collection.
For further assistance or questions regarding the microfiche in the South Asian Collection, contact the Asian Reading Room through Ask a Librarian.
Further Reading:
Āndhra Sārasvata Pariṣattu. Sujāta. Haidrābād: Āndhrasārasvatapariṣattu, 1950.
Govt. of India. Technology in Indian microwave oven industry: a status report prepared under the National Register of Foreign Collaborations. New Delhi: Govt. of India, Dept. of Scientific & Industrial Research, Ministry of Science and Technology, 1993.
Panagariya, Arvind. The triumph of India’s market reforms the record of the 1980s and 1990s. Washington, D.C.: Cato Institute, 2005.
Row Chowdhury, Sunandan. Politics, Policy, and Higher Education in India. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017.
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