My own tribute to Uncle Pai

Studying in vernacular medium as medium of instruction, I didn’t have proficiency in reading English comics or any books which are in English. My cousins who were studying in other states have English as their medium of instruction and they used to speak in English and read English comics. It was a kind of communication gap and their mother’s used to act as translators, translating my words into English and vice versa. The main things of attraction when my cousins used to come are the huge traveller bags and the English comics particularly ‘Tinkle’.

‘Tinkle’ was a colorful collection of some designs (even didn’t know that the designs are called as cartoons) with full of sentences in English and I never used to understand anything out of it. Only thing is I could to imagine myself that they are speaking certain sentences depending upon the gestures of the cartoons in the book. I used to collect all those books which were left by my cousins to read some day when I learn English. I was also not knowing that ‘Tinkle’ is a magazine which used to be printed often once in fortnight.

I had collection of all such Tinkle comics and kept safely. After learning English as a subject in high school I could read some sentences joining words and also could write some simple sentences on my own. I started to read all the piled up comics. I felt it as a wonderful world of fun, finished reading the entire comics one after the other. I was very happy reading all those and also searched in market to take new ones. But sadly it was not available at my place as nobody asks for it often. That’s how my association with ‘Tinkle’ ended.

Recently had read about the news about the person who was behind the comic ‘Tinkle’ passed away. All of a sudden I remembered everything from childhood and read the full article featured about that person. Thanks to that person who created a sense of imagination in me from childhood. There is no one who has not heard of popular comic series ‘Amar Chitra Katha’.

Hope now you can make out about whom I am speaking about, it is none other than Anant Pai who led the comic ‘Tinkle’ for many years, popularly known as Uncle Pai to ‘Tinkle’ readers. Children of today and myself will surely Miss you.