India, Oct. 22 -- As festive lights brighten homes across Maharashtra, another vibrant Diwali tradition quietly illuminates the minds - special magazines known as Diwali Ank, Marathi literature's enduring gift to readers. Despite growing concerns about dwindling reading habits, more than 350 such magazines have hit the stands this year, offering a rich mix of literature, thought, and culture.

For over a century, Diwali Ank editions of Marathi magazines have been a staple of the state's cultural landscape. The magazines, usually thicker and more elaborate than regular issues, arrive just before Diwali and bring with them a literary feast of short stories, poems, travelogues, essays, and social commentary. For many, they are as essential t...