Tinkle

By 1983, Tinkle was already on its way becoming the most popular children’s magazine.  There biggest rival that time was another children magazine named Target, run by Living Media.  Unlike Tinkle, Target was more a narrative magazine, with a few pages of comics.

 Their flagship character that time was Moochwala by Ajit Ninan, which literally means a ‘man with a moustache’, who was a detective with penetrating eyes and a huge moustache.

 Tinkle always wanted to create a character which can stand toe-to-toe against Moochwala.  Subba Rao, one of the creators at Tinkle, once proposed the idea to the editorial team, to base a character in similarity to a character in the then famous TV Serial, I Love Lucy (which seems to be more classical for my genre’s liking), where he was described as a boastful but cowardly big game hunter.

 Luis Fernandes then worked on producing the first story, which was originally named Shambu, before Subba Rao prefixed Shikari (meaning Hunter, in Hindi) to the name.  Some of his editorial team-mates had reservation over the use of the name Shikari, as the Wild-Life Conservation theme was in its prominence. But, the sheer charisma of the name, they and Edtor Pai, decided to let it continue. But, contrary to the name, the creators ensured that Shambu never would shoot or kill any animal in any of its episodes.  More than that, creators slowly even disassociated him from his trademark hunting gun, after few episodes.

 An Intro about Shambu One of the reasons for the popularity of Tinkle Books was due to the comical illustrations of the artist, Vasant Halbe.  Halbe, who was a freelancer at Tinkle that time, had impressed the editorial team with his earlier works. One he was confirmed officially as the artist for the series, he showcased his character sketches, of which a drawing of Shikari with his Topi (hat) pulled down over his eyes, caught everyone’s attention. The sketch went on to be the among the flagship character of Tinkle.

 Savio Mascarenhas, the current artist of the series, adds “I began illustrating Shambu only when Halbe retired in 1997-98. His style was brush/free hand drawings that flowed and it was tough to copy that. But I think both our styles have blended beautifully.”

 Like Suppaandi, Shambu also has an offshoot series featuring his young life, titled ‘Little Shambu’, who was created and being drawn also by Mascrenhas.  Till date the creators have managed to hide the eyes of the famous hunter from public viewing.  A legacy it shares with the Lee Falk’s Phantom, where his pupils are seldom shown to fans.

 Tamil Comic fans, will also remember that Shikari Shambu was a regular feature in the erstwhile Tamil Children's Magazine Poonthalir where the comic strip was titled as “Vettaikkaara Vembu” I especially liked the way Shambu is made to run for his life, often fearing for his wife’s beating at home.  Many believe that Shambu is fearless, but only his wife knows what he is really “capable of”.

 Poonthalir Shambu 01 copy Shambu in Poonthalir as Vettaikkaara Vembu

Dr.Pai adds “Amar Chitra Katha had to wait for four years to achieve some measure of success. In the case of Tinkle the success was instantaneous, perhaps because it came piggy-back riding on Amar Chitra Katha. The 40,000 initial book prints sold out, and new orders started pouring in from dealers. When I conveyed this news to Mirchandani, he was so moved that for the first time I saw tears glistening in his eyes.  I have also often been asked questions about the title of the magazine. I remember Subba Rao, my associate editor, and I were pondering over various possible alternatives. When one of the staff members said there was a tinkle (meaning a telephone call) for me. Subba Rao said, ‘What about Tinkle as the title for the magazine?’ That is how it came to be Tinkle

Tinkle is an Indian monthly comic Indian magazine, published in severalIndian languages. Originally owned by the India Book House, the Tinkle brand was acquired by ACK Media in 2007.

The Magazine combines comics, puzzles, quizzes, contest and other features in a unique mix targeted at school children. It is published in English and syndicated in many Indian languages.

Anant Pai was the founding editor of the magazine, who became popular among its readership as Uncle Pai. He also launched the popular ACK series.

The first issue was printed in 1980, and more than 600 issues have been printed so far. The magazine carries comic stories and regular columns of interest to school children. Tinkle Books enjoys great popularity, and has been an integral part of growing up in India in the last two decades.

Characters like Suppandi and Shikari Shambu that appeared first in the pages of the magazine have nation wide recognition. Readers send more than 200 letters with stories and other features to be considered for printing in the magazine.

The wholesome combination of educational and entertainment that defines Tinkle has many celebrity fans in India, including the former Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.