Mumbai: Bidding adieu to Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, party mouthpiece `Saamna`, a Marathi daily, and its sister publication `Dophar Ka Saamna`, a Hindi newspaper, wore a mournful look today with full black cover jackets and black cover pages.
Bal Thackeray, who passed away yesterday, was the founder-editor of both the papers, considered to be the party`s voice, as Shiv Sainiks had got used to receiving messages and directions from their supremo through them.
The day-to-day affairs in both the papers were managed by hand-picked executive editors.
Sena sources said for the first time in Saamna`s history since it was launched on January 23, 1988, two main cover pages were printed in sheer black.
Jacket cover carried a large smiling picture of Bal Thackeray, a heading in large font -- "Aaple Saheb Gele" (Our Boss Departs) -- and a verse in Marathi below it.
The inside main cover had flier headline saying `A divine avatar goes to heaven` and the day`s top story headlined `A storm called Balasaheb has quietened`.
`Dopahar Ka Saamna` does not come out on Sunday, but it brought out a special edition today as a tribute to Thackeray, executive editor Prem Shukla wrote in the editorial.
It also had a full black cover with a photograph of Thackeray`s headlined `Hinduon Ke Mahadev Ka Mahaprayan`, and a verse.
The inside pages had thick black bands with the stories in a grey background.
Saamna was founded as a party organ for Marathi-speaking followers, while `Dopahar Ka Saamna` was launched on February 23, 1993 to woo the north Indians settled in Mumbai and Maharashtra.
PTI
