A seven year young magazine and proud recipient of a national award in the tri-lingual category, was formally launched on the 9th of April 2012.

During one of the conversations, the then VMS President was having with her team on image-building of VMS, publishing a quarterly magazine was one among the many other suggestions. The name Spark wasn’t decided then. It was decided to get this from the members of the Samiti. Many suggestions poured in and the name SPARK was chosen.

The first team of Spark comprised of the VMS executive committee, Mr Satyendra , Mrs Vani Deshikachar , Mr Lalan Kumar, Ms Namita and Mr Gopal. Subsequently, from the third issue, the team comprised of the president -VMS as Editor in Chief, Mr Satyendra , Mrs Vani Deshikachar, Mr Gopal , Ms Namita and Ms Maneesha. The editorial team also added Mrs. Savitry and Mrs. Suguna.

Mrs. Lata Choudhary handed over the charge to Mrs. Bindoo Mohapatra, who was the Editor in Chief for five years.

Mrs. Sarada Rath took charge as the Editor in Chief, in November 2018. The team further expanded. Four representatives were identified in each region to increase the reach of spark as well as to source from every VSP family.

Spark is a quarterly magazine published by VMS. It is an in-house magazine by, of and for the VIZAG steel family.

“Reaching Out” was a two page feature (now four pages) where the Social and Community development activities are reported. Other features include -

• “Dil Se”- as the title suggests”, is about true stories/ poetry that are straight from the heart and stirs up emotions of every reader.
• "Jab we Met" is about true stories of two people or a group of people meeting and resulting in small or far reaching consequences of positivity.
• "Health & Wellness”- This feature is all about health and sharing simple information on various health issues and the many forms of treatment available (Allopathy , Ayurveda, Naturopathy and other forms).
• "Dadima ke Nuskhe" is about information on traditional solutions and home remedies. It also includes information on finding solutions with locally available resources.
• “Khana Khazana”, is about the gastronomic affair. A variety of recipes are featured which are simple and can be easily tried by even a novice in the kitchen. We started off with an exclusive “Cookery Special” issue. All subsequent issues have been theme- based recipes such as - diet and recipes for pregnant women, therapeutic diets and recipes, pre- teen birthday recipes and the like.
• “Laughter and Leisure”, two important requirements for a sane mind. Theme based cartoons and jokes are featured to tickle that funny bone.
• In order to tease the brain a bit and to make sure that our readers read every page of Spark, there are ten questions to answer in the “leisure“ feature. Prizes can be won by the first one to answers all the question correctly.
• “Hamare Apne” features the unsung heroes of VSP.
• “My Garden“ featured interviews with owners of the best gardens of Ukkunagaram and school gardens maintained by students.
• “Ukkunagaram Days” is a relatively new feature. It is a heart-warming feature where earlier and present residents, from VSP write for the readers regarding the life and times of Ukkunagaram.
• The "One-Liner" feature gives a platform to every member of VMS to write on the given theme. We get some great responses to this feature.
• Spark has added another three features - Travel diaries, Book review and Junoon Ke Raahi. We have been receiving encouraging feedback about these features.
• DIVYOKTI - Spark has introduced a column in the ancient classical language - Sanskrit. This now makes Spark a Quadra lingual magazine! Isn’t that amazing?!

Most of the spark issues are theme based, which makes it interesting for the writer and the reader too. Spark started with a purpose to project all the good work being done by VMS and to give a platform to share literary skills. Today, it has reached far and wide, connecting people from then and now and suddenly feels like one big joint family spread all over the globe. Spark is a baby, who was always restless to grow up soon and wanting to add variety to her persona!

Regarding Spark Editions and to get your write-ups featured in future editions, don't hesitate, please reach out to our Spark Team.