Hamdard Naunehal

Hamdard Naunehal is a Pakistani children's magazine published in Urdu and English under the Hamdard Foundation. The periodical began publication in 1953 through the initiative of Hakim Said of Hamdard Laboratories, with Masood Ahmed Barkati serving as its editor. It developed a durable readership among children by combining language education, moral instruction, entertainment, and general-interest material rather than limiting itself to a single literary or educational format. The magazine is particularly associated with its effort to encourage correct and effective Urdu usage. Its section نونہال لغت, commonly described as a children's Urdu glossary or vocabulary feature, supports that educational purpose. Other recurring or characteristic material has included short moral stories, mystery stories, cartoons, factual snippets, curiosities, and pieces intended to broaden children's knowledge. This combination of language development and accessible entertainment has been central to the magazine's identity and popularity. Naunehal has historically operated as a Hamdard cultural and educational publishing project rather than as a conventional commercial consumer brand. Its institutional association is with the Hamdard Foundation, while its editorial heritage is strongly linked to Barkati, whose tenure helped shape the publication's recognizable voice and format. After his death, the magazine continued to preserve his contribution by reprinting or publishing articles from his earlier work. The publication's basic digest format remained substantially stable for many years. A section called ھنڈکلیا, focused on teaching basic cooking, was added during the magazine's earlier format history and remained until October 2020. In October 2020, Naunehal was redesigned as a bilingual publication containing 96 Urdu pages and 64 English pages. This change formalized the magazine's dual-language character and expanded its accessibility to readers working across Pakistan's two principal literary languages. The editorial and production team identified in reference material includes Saleem Farrukhi as editor, Sadia Rashid as patron-in-chief, Mohammad Arsalan as project head, and Akram Warsi as designer. Sadia Rashid is identified as the daughter of the late Hakim Saeed Shaheed, described in the source material as a philanthropist and founder associated with Hamdard Industries. Ghazala Imam served as drawing artist until December 2023. The available material does not establish circulation figures, revenue, a separate corporate registration, or distribution outside Pakistan. Naunehal is therefore best understood as an active Pakistani children's publishing title and an educational-cultural brand within the broader Hamdard institutional family.

Hamdard Naunehal is a Pakistani children's monthly magazine founded in 1953 through the initiative of Hakim Said of Hamdard Laboratories. Masood Ahmed Barkati became its editor and is an important figure in the title's editorial history. The magazine was designed for children and combined literary, educational, and recreational content in a digest-style publication. Its long-running identity has centered on the use and teaching of Urdu. The feature نونہال لغت supports children's vocabulary and proper Urdu usage, while stories, cartoons, factual notes, and other short items make the educational material accessible to younger readers. Moral and mystery stories have also formed part of the magazine's characteristic content, allowing it to address conduct, imagination, and entertainment within the same issue. For much of its history, the magazine's format changed relatively little. It included a basic cooking feature titled ھنڈکلیا, which was intended to teach children simple cooking skills and remained part of the publication until October 2020. That month marked a significant format revision: Naunehal was relaunched as a bilingual magazine carrying 96 Urdu pages and 64 English pages. The revision made the Urdu-English structure explicit while retaining the title's educational and children's-magazine orientation. The magazine is published under the Hamdard Foundation and is associated with the wider Hamdard philanthropic and publishing tradition in Pakistan. Its current editorial team is identified as including editor Saleem Farrukhi, patron-in-chief Sadia Rashid, project head Mohammad Arsalan, and designer Akram Warsi. After the death of Barkati, the publication continued to honor his legacy by printing articles from his period. Ghazala Imam was identified as the drawing artist until December 2023. Available reference material does not provide reliable figures for circulation, revenue, staffing size, or international distribution, so the documented history is primarily editorial and product-focused.

1. 2023End of Ghazala Imam's documented drawing-artist tenure

   Ghazala Imam was identified as the drawing artist through December 2023.

   Source
2. 2020Bilingual redesign

   In October, Naunehal was revised into a bilingual Urdu-English magazine containing 96 Urdu pages and 64 English pages.

   Source
3. 1953Launch of Hamdard Naunehal

   Hamdard Naunehal began publication as a Pakistani children's monthly magazine through the initiative of Hakim Said of Hamdard Laboratories, with Masood Ahmed Barkati as editor.

   Source

An educational and entertainment magazine for children, positioned around Urdu language development, bilingual reading, moral storytelling, cartoons, and accessible general knowledge within the Hamdard philanthropic publishing tradition.

• Hamdard Naunehal monthly magazineChildren's magazine1953

  The core product is a monthly children's digest published under the Hamdard Foundation. It combines Urdu and English reading material with vocabulary instruction, moral and mystery stories, cartoons, informative snippets, and other short features intended for younger readers. Since the 2020 redesign, the magazine has been explicitly bilingual, with separate Urdu and English page allocations.

• نونہال لغتUrdu language feature

  A recurring language-oriented section associated with Hamdard Naunehal. It supports children's understanding and use of proper Urdu by presenting vocabulary and related explanatory material in an accessible format.

• ھンダکلیاCooking education feature

  A basic cooking section intended to introduce children to simple culinary skills. The feature was part of the magazine's format until October 2020.

• 2020Conversion to a bilingual Urdu-English formatGeneration change

  The magazine had retained a broadly stable digest format for many years, including a basic cooking section.

  What changed. In October 2020, Naunehal was revamped into a bilingual publication with 96 Urdu pages and 64 English pages; the ھنڈکلیا cooking section was no longer part of the format.

  Aftermath. The redesign formalized the title's bilingual positioning while preserving its focus on children's education, language, stories, cartoons, and general knowledge.

  Source

• 2023Ghazala Imam's drawing-artist tenure ends

  Ghazala Imam was identified as the magazine's drawing artist through December 2023.

  Leadership change
  Source
• 2020Hamdard Naunehal adopts a bilingual magazine format

  In October 2020, the magazine was redesigned into a bilingual publication with 96 Urdu pages and 64 English pages.

  Product generationProduct launch
  Source
• Editorial and creative team changes after Masood Ahmed Barkati

  Following the death of longtime editor Masood Ahmed Barkati, a new team led editorial and production work while continuing to publish material associated with his tenure.

  Leadership change
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1. Hamdard Naunehal
2. Hamdard Foundation Naunehal