Tinkle
Encyclopedia
Tinkle is an Indian
monthly magazine, published mainly in India. Originally owned by the India Book House
, the Tinkle brand was acquired by ACK Media in 2007. The Magazine contains comics
, stories
, puzzles, quizzes
, contests and other features targeted at school children, although its readership includes many adults as well. It is published in English
and syndicated in many Indian languages like Malayalam.
Anant Pai, the founding editor of the magazine, is known to his readers as Uncle Pai. He has also launched the popular Amar Chitra Katha
series.
The first issue was launched in April
1980. More than 500 issues have been printed so far. The magazine carries comic stories and regular columns of interest to school children. Tinkle 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 nationwide 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
. There is an official website for Tinkle, which contains puzzles and games.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
monthly magazine, published mainly in India. Originally owned by the India Book House
India Book House
India Book House Pvt. Limited is an importer, distributor and publisher of books and magazines in India.Formed in 1952, India Book House published paperback editions of children's authors such as Enid Blyton and Frederick Forsyth, as well as magazines such as Tintin and Asterix, often in Indian...
, the Tinkle brand was acquired by ACK Media in 2007. The Magazine contains comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
, stories
Stories
Stories may refer to:* Height of more than one Storey * Stories , a greatest hits compilation album by Randy Stonehill...
, puzzles, quizzes
Quiz
A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which the players attempt to answer questions correctly. In some countries, a quiz is also a brief assessment used in education and similar fields to measure growth in knowledge, abilities, and/or skills.Quizzes are usually scored in points and many...
, contests and other features targeted at school children, although its readership includes many adults as well. It is published in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and syndicated in many Indian languages like Malayalam.
Anant Pai, the founding editor of the magazine, is known to his readers as Uncle Pai. He has also launched the popular Amar Chitra Katha
Amar Chitra Katha
Amar Chitra Katha Stories") is one of India's largest selling comic book series, with more than 90 million copies sold in 20 Indian languages. Founded in 1967, the imprint has more than 400 titles that retell stories from the great Indian epics, mythology, history, folklore, and fables in a comic...
series.
The first issue was launched in April
April
April is the fourth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and one of four months with a length of 30 days. April was originally the second month of the Roman calendar, before January and February were added by King Numa Pompilius about 700 BC...
1980. More than 500 issues have been printed so far. The magazine carries comic stories and regular columns of interest to school children. Tinkle 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 nationwide 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
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee is an Indian statesman who served as the tenth Prime Minister of India three times – first for a brief term of 13 days in 1996, and then for two terms from 1998 to 2004. After his first brief period as Prime Minister in 1996, Vajpayee headed a coalition government from...
. There is an official website for Tinkle, which contains puzzles and games.
Popular comics
Apart from one-off stories, Tinkle also has regular characters that appear in stand-alone fashion. Some of these characters are:Current
- SuppandiSuppandiItalic text--223.190.158.141 14:07, 23 November 2011 Suppandi is a comic character who appears in Tinkle comics. Suppandi, a village simpleton, is still considered the most famous among the characters appearing in Tinkle. Suppandi made his debut in Tinkle No.27 in January, 1983.-Origin:Suppandi...
- Suppandi, the village simpleton, is by far the most popular Tinkle character. He is a well-meaning servant who always misunderstands the commands of his masters, which leads to many humorous accidents.
- Kalia the CrowKalia the CrowKalia the Crow is a cartoon character in the popular Indian monthly comic Tinkle. Kalia is a crow that usually features in strips of the Kalia the Crow series. Chamataka the fox and his accomplice and friend Doob Doob are usually featured desperately trying to catch two rabbits, Keechu and Meechu,...
- Kalia is an intelligent crow who saves his friends from Doob-doob the crocodile and Chamataka the jackal.
- Tantri the Mantri - Tantri is the scheming Minister (Mantri) of the well-meaning Raja Hooja. Tantri wants to get rid of Raja Hooja so that he can become king. Every episode in this series has Tantri devising an elaborate scheme which eventually backfires. The highlight of this series is that the Raja always escapes, and he thinks that he escapes because of Tantri's efforts. The plot is surprisingly similar to Rene GoscinnyRené GoscinnyRené Goscinny was a French comics editor and writer, who is best known for the comic book Astérix, which he created with illustrator Albert Uderzo, and for his work on the comic series Lucky Luke with Morris and Iznogoud with Jean Tabary.-Early life:Goscinny was born in Paris in 1926, to a family...
's IznogoudIznogoudIznogoud |French]] accent) is a French comics series featuring an eponymous character, created by the comics writer René Goscinny and comics artist Jean Tabary...
. To provide an interesting twist to the tale, arch enemies were introduced for Tantri and Hooja, as Jantri and Dooja. Tantri also has henchmen, Dushtabuddhi & Vichitrabuddhi.
- Shikari ShambuShikari ShambuShikari Shambu is a meek, lazy hunter whom the rest of the world perceives as courageous, powerful hunter. He always tries to run away from dangerous animals, but due to some stroke of luck always ends up as a hero....
- Shambu is a Shikari, a hunter, whom the world perceives as courageous and powerful, whereas in reality he is meek, easygoing and lazy. He would prefer to laze around in his house all day, and tries to run away from any signs of trouble. But the villagers and his wife believe he is fearless, and persuade him to take up dangerous tasks. He always manages to survive and accomplish the task by a stroke of luck. The series had attracted mild criticism in the past for depicting endangered animals as villains. Recent editions have a powerful pro-conservation message.
- Pyarelal series - A very kind-hearted farmer who lives with his wife Lajwanti or Lajo has millions of adventures.
- Ajay- The Detective - This series tells us about Ajay, the youngest and smartest detective in the town. Whenever a mystery is there, he is sure to be in the spotlight. He gets help from Inspector Sharma to nab the culprits.
- Butterfingers - These stories revolve around Amar, nicknamed Butterfingers for his knack of dropping things. He is accident-prone and clumsy. He is a student of Grade 9, Green Park School. He often draws his friends Kiran, Eric, Minu and others into many adventures. The stories are written by Khyrunnisa A., with scriptwork by Anomita Guha and illustrations by Abhijeeth Kini. Recently, Tinkle has introduced a book named "Oops! Its Butterfingers", featuring the best stories about him.
- The Defective Detectives - The "Defective Detectives" are Rahul & Ravi who call themselves detectives and try their best to solve mysteries. They have codenames to conceal their identities (which differ in each episode). Ravi has a sister called Samhita "Sam" who solves the case before the defective detectives. But recently they have started solving mysteries by a stroke luck which arises the green eyed monster of envy in Sam.
- Janoo and Wooly Woo - Janoo, a courageous witch who lives with her friend Wooly, a coward dragon who can puff flames from his nostrils. They live in Jadu and have relations with Rulers like King Arctic Snow, Empress Deer etc. Janoo and her friend stop the menace of the day with her magicstick, called Hexa, in which the magic starts with 'Magic Hexa, HIX HAX HUX!
- Nasruddin Hodja - A man who has a large witty brain which he uses to outsmart people. His character is based on the Turkish Mullah NasreddinNasreddinNasreddin was a Seljuq satirical Sufi figure, sometimes believed to have lived during the Middle Ages and considered a populist philosopher and wise man, remembered for his funny stories and anecdotes. He appears in thousands of stories, sometimes witty, sometimes wise, but often, too, a fool or...
.
- Kapish - A clever, helpful monkey who lives in the jungle of Kadu along with his friends, Baboocha the bear, Bundila the elephant and many others. His arch enemies are Sigal the jackal and Peelu the tiger. Kapish has supernatural powers, which help him to extend and shrink his tail at will. This ability and his quick thinking help him save his friends from Peelu and Sigal.(Appear only in the tinkle digest and double digest series)
- Ramu and Shamu - Ramu and Shamu are two innocent identical twins having their ups and their downs as they experiment and play.
Former
- The Dumbbells- The dumbbells Natoo, Datoo and Motu are friends who live a simple adventurous life. Their arch enemy is Damodar who always tries to foil them up. Unfortunately for Damodar, it is the Dumbbells who win!
- Mopes and Purr- Another detective plot based comic series featuring two animal detectives namely Purr (Stray Cat)& Mopes (Doberman).The detective duo tries to help everyone out of trouble without revealing their identities.
- Little Shambu series- This is the story of Shikari Shambu when he was young. His future wife Shanti is also young. Little Shambu always ends up being a boy hero in the series.
- Junior Tantri- This is the story of Tantri in his young age. Prince Hooja thinks of him as a trusted friend but Tantri wants to kill Hooja. However, his plans backfire on him, making Hooja think he saved his life.
- Chhotu and Lambu- As the names suggest, Lambu is tall while Chottu is short; Chottu uses his witty brain to help them and others.
- Chaman Charlie- An old man wearing a dhoti and an overcoat, looking just like Charlie Chaplin. This chap is very witty, and at times courageous.
- Little Suppandi- These are the tales of suppandi's childhood when he used to be equally ignorant and it features his interesting tales with his teachers and relations.