About Us

“Jano” is the Hindi word for “know”. As our tagline “know history’s stories” implies, we want Indians to know their history and offer it to Indian families in a compelling and engaging way.  

Jano is conceived, written and designed by alumni of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. We work closely with a team of professors, writers, instructional designers, and graphic artists. Our professors and teachers are experts in the topics that are selected while our designers have experience in the pedagogies of online learning.

Jano is written keeping in mind primarily  the interests and needs of teens in grades 8-12.  However college kids and adults read and enjoy our magazines too. Jano helps your kids and you to think critically about South Asian history. Jano is ideal for an entire family of Asian Indian heritage.

Jano relies on historical knowledge as the basis for the strengthening of identity in Asian Indian families.  Teens particularly are at a stage in their lives when they are most preoccupied with establishing a strong sense of self.  Jano will help Indian kids gain a fuller sense of themselves in relation to the world by exploring history.

Additionally, our magazines promote 21st century skills such as visual literacy, media literacy, communication and critical thinking. Our  focus on only one topic gives our  readers a knowledge base in that topic that is sufficiently broad and deep. A carefully curated selection of videos, photos, cartoons, web-links to external information and newspaper clippings encourages further questioning and analysis. You could simply browse through the many articles in each issue. Your teen could do the same or for deeper learning, follow the guiding questions, comprehension aids, short assignments and activities that come with every issue..

For one, you’ll see that history doesn’t have to be dry and boring. Rather, through the many photos, analyses, debates, documents, and other resources that relate to the topic of an issue, history will come alive! You will see how decisions made by people in the past have had consequences, even to the extent of affecting our own lives. Jano topics range from the history of the ties between African Americans and Indians to Indian influences on American science fiction. You will also read about the history of Indian sports, Bollywood, and the history of yoga in America. These are just a few of the stimulating and engaging topics we will cover at Jano.

Both! Jano is relevant to anyone with an Indian heritage. We’ve found that Indian American history is of enormous interest to people in India. Also, anyone of Indian heritage, whether based in India or abroad is fascinated by the unknown stories that we excavate from history. If you are based in India, we have special rupee pricing for you. If you live in the United States, you can pay in dollars.