Stop and stare before you dismiss it as just another glossy. By far the smoothest on the rack as far as printing goes, Gallerie a new bi-annual magazine, is somewhat of a cross between Time, Life and National Geographic. The brainchild of Bina Sarkar Ellias, an ex-journalist who forayed into advertising, she returns to journalism as the editor of this `book-azine'.

A tag which might help explain the Rs 200 cover price. The magazine is a mix of performing arts, music, poetry, literature, photography, travel and human interest issues. But with a total of 11 stories, the first issue seems a bit low on editorial content for such a rich-looking production. Says Rafiq Ellias, who is handling production, "We didn't want it to be too text heavy or intimidating for the reader. It has to be a pleasure to look at too."

There is great emphasis on illustrations and photographs with each story liberally spaced to accomodate visuals. Mangesh Rane is the art director and surprisingly the printing has been done in Hyderabad by Pragati. "It would have been easy to print it in Singapore or Dubai, but we wanted to prove that Indian printing is world-class," says he. The advertisments too merge with the look of the magazine, with some created specially for Gallerie. Edited and produced in India, it is not completely inward looking. There is a photo essay on a black American dancer and a story on traditional Japanese theatre, Kabuki. Says Rafiq, "It is India looking outwards."

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.