Hidden Stories: Inside India’s oldest health magazine, in print since 1910

3 min readJul 4, 2026 12:14 PM IST

'Herald of Health', published by Pune-based Oriental Watchman Publishing House, has been spreading awareness about ailments, diseases, cures, precautions and prevention since January 1910, (Express: photo: Special Arrangement)

Written by Piyush M Padwale and Dipanita Nath

The latest July edition of Herald of Health magazine opens with an article titled ‘Malaria: A Continuing Challenge, A Hopeful Endgame’. Turn the pages, and one comes across topics such as ‘Protecting Yourself Against Hepatitis B Infection’; ‘Why Parents Should Save Their Babies’ Cord Blood’; ‘Kidney Function Improved with Plant-Based Diet, What Do Researchers Say’ and ‘Why Do You Need Sunscreen Even in Winter’.

Keep browsing, and you find articles on life after a heart attack, Doctors’ Day and a study about egg consumption associated with a low risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. Regular columns come up next; from a children’s column to ‘Ask the Doctor’ and a youth guide.

In fewer than 30 pages, Herald of Health, published by Pune-based Oriental Watchman Publishing House (OWPH), has been spreading awareness about ailments, diseases, cures, precautions and prevention since January 1910, making it the oldest health magazine published in India.

The publishers say they will continue sending copies across India to people who need credible and well-researched articles in one place. The magazine finds readers in rural areas, libraries and hospitals. “We talk about how young children must not develop bad habits. The magazine focuses on healthy lifestyles, choices, obedience and character development,” says Wilson Measapogu, OWPH president.

A Missionary from Michigan

Operating out of a heritage campus of brick-and-plaster buildings surrounding open courtyards, OWPH has adapted its century-old infrastructure to changing publishing technologies. Sloping tiled roofs, exposed brick facades, timber-framed windows and expansive printing halls accommodate editorial offices, archives, printing presses and warehouses.

Wilson invites one to trek through history, to Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1870 when Homer Russell Salisbury was born. His family were members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and Salisbury – after whom Pune’s Salisbury Park neighbourhood is named – would become a missionary, travelling to India. The publishing house is a franchisee of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Starting with Calcutta, now Kolkata, the publishing house would move to Karmatar in 1905, Lucknow in 1909 and Pune in 1924. The magazine was started by the missionaries in Lucknow and had to suspend publication during World War 1.

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“Today, the magazine is read in South India, Jharkhand and Delhi and some parts of North India. It is not a large print as it used to be before. Even 25 years ago, the total print run for English and other languages used to be 2,50,000. Now, this has come down to 10,000. But we are not interested in making money. There are no advertisements in the magazine. We are interested in learning and educating about medical knowledge,” says Wilson, promising that the magazine will continue its service to people who want to stay healthy and live better.

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