Dis is my very first blog!! I have been around for a while, sneak peeked into the suddenly raining blogs all over facebook (yes, datz where I m around all the time): P
I know blogging easy though it sounds, can be quite exasperating thinking of a topic. Coz I just can’t pen down random thoughts that I get n lose, faster than the changing bfs of bollywood scarlets!!
Neways I really don’t know how well or how bad I can write... But here I m finally blogging {on public demand} lol!!
Train journeys always have some memories associated wid them, no exceptions.
Kareena kapoor might agree wid me, considering the missed train (JWM) ws the only solo hit film to her credit which took her to some places atleast: P
Like she says about Rajdhani, I’d say “pune toh mera 2nd home hain jee” so It goes without saying datz where I have been to most since childhood. Deccan queen n Pragati are the trains I have most traveled in.
Neways coming back to memories, journeying back in pune trains years ago, the thing I most looked forward to in train travels is buying TINKLES
Those of u who dunno, it used to be a kids magazine available as a monthly, fornight edition and a digest as well. [I wonder y they call it “digests”!??!! readers digest, tinkle digest, Archie’s double digest to name a few] :O
I have literally grown up reading tinkle, considering they was hardly nething else to do in Summers dose days as I didn’t have a “cable TV” or a PC
Those characters n the illustrations fascinated me. I wud spend hours n days reading the same stories n imagining penning something someday as a tribute to my fav magazine!
It used to cost me 25 Rs for a 50 page Tinkle digest, just a lil broader dan an oxford dictionary! According to me, it was money well spend though!
There were loads of sections apart from stories like “it happened to me” the reality column where kids used to describe some weird out of the world experiences. It always ended wid proverbs like “a stitch in time saves 9” or a little guy would proudly declare how honesty proved to be the best quality! Dat was lame I used to think, as I always had a aversion to preaching! N who the hell cared about how a 10 year old from Chennai missed his bus n lost his way n how a “stranger uncle” helped him home!! Followed by some quote about being helpful. Forgive me for my hypocrisy, I had send infinite articles to “it happened to me column” but sadly “nothing great” happened to me so I never got my 10 lines of fame!! Talk about sour grapes!!!
Then, there used to be a story on “Anu Club” where a bespectacled “Anu uncle” (I still dunno the full name of dat bloke btw!!) would enlighten us about Nature and its miracles, science and technology, current affairs, recent discoveries through dull stories! Needless to say, I always skipped it! While dat was the only part of Tinkles which mom found constructive!
Those of who u ever read tinkles, mite remember Suppandi jokes!! Suppandi was a silly simpleton with a nose more pointed than Pinocchio n a protruding forehead. He worked as a servant and always took things literally!! N the fun dat followed!! I used to entertain my relatives as a 7 year old, cracking Suppandi joke, n I used to find it extremely offending if somebody didn’t laugh.
Who can forget, Shambu the Shikari (hunter), a lazy good for nothing hunter, who had a huge moustache n had his face covered wid a hunters hat! He had a nagging wife shanty ( I m sure many men wud be able to relate to it even now) He used to catch escaped leopards n snakes by chance n ppl wud shower him with praises n gifts.
Tantri the mantri who made plans to dethrone Hodja the Raja, all unsuccessful though! Kalia the crow, Kapish the monkey who could increase the length of his tail n save innocent animals from Doob Doob the crocodile n Chamatka the fox (thnx to them, Tinkle had a few grey streaks to it) lol..
Then there was Raja the detective, Ramu Shamu (annoying twins), Raji, the little girl who had a lot of nuisance value and so many others to remember!!
I used to have such a great time reading Tinkles.. I still do… the innocence, the camaraderie amongst the jungle folks, “the right things to do” , the belief that a single prayer to God would solve all your troubles is something u really miss nowadays! Magazines n Digests nowadays only enlighten us about the current political mess, how musicians crying foul to the “lifted” tunes, useless beauty tips, predictable hook ups and breakups, deaths, murders and mergers.
Tinkle always made me realize n relish the beauty in small and simple things!! It really cheers u up!!
How I wish life ws as simple as the stories in Tinkle!!
How I wish I ws a child again!! J J
