Tantri The Mantri Dethrones Raja Hooja After 35 Years of Tracing

Tantri the Mantri is now the king of Hujli after 35 long years of conspiracy against Raja Hooja. We asked Rajani Thindiath, editor of Tinkle, if this sent the message of evil triumph over the good and other comics projects of Amar Chitra Katha.

Tantri the Mantri became king, a position he saw for a long time.

This was done thanks to Tantri's efforts and the many prayers (readings) of the readers. In addition, this year we wanted to spice up the intrigues of the Tinkle Toons and take a fresh look at stories we have known for decades.

Tantri the Mantri is known for his plots against Raja Hooja. So, does this new story seem to reward the evil of good? How do you see it?

This turn is about how one deals with responsibility. Everyone wants to be the clbad monitor, but how do they go about it, once they've become? Do they protect their friends who are caught talking in clbad or does the instructor teach them a thing or two about responsibility?

It is said that everything is right in love and at war. In real life too, politics and power tend to believe in the justification of means. Do you think this could send this message to children?

We have not received any letter from a child who wants to imitate Tantri's manners. Tantri is Tinkle's only villain to have been loved by generations of Tinkle comic readers. They seem to see him as someone who works hard to achieve his goal. They also like his antics.

Tell us about the legacy of Tantri the Mantri and why the need to change lanes now.

Tantri the Mantri, unlike most of our Tinkle Toons, was designed by several people from the Tingling Team at the time. The first story was written by Prasad Iyer and illustrated by Ashok Dongre. He made his debut in number 85 in 1984. It's been 35 long years, and all the while, we've received endless requests from readers to allow Tantri to be the king. This year, a whole group of Tinkle Toons, ranging from clbadic Shikari Shambu and Tantri icons to the new WingStar Toons, NOIS and YogYodhas, tackle narrative arcs. When we looked at Tantri, we thought the time was right to give him a chance to get to the throne.

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What can we see in the upcoming tales about Tantri?

It will be an exciting time for Tantri. He has to face the responsibilities of being king. He also realizes that he is now the target of badbadination attempts, just like King Hooja. He will have to dig up the plot if he wants to stay safe and keep the throne. After all, since he was behind most of King Hooja's life attempts, he would now be paranoid to see someone pull a tantri on him.

Is the trend still to read the habit of reading comics in children? What are the kids attracted to these days?

I always thought that humorous reading was a fantastic first step towards reading for children. Children who are intimidated by a lot of text are attracted by the visual form of narration that is comic. In fact, some readers have compared the reading of a Tinkle story to that of a 10-minute film. To continue this effort, Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle are currently leading the #ReadingIsGood campaign, which lasts throughout the year. We want parents to take the burden and be examples to their children by reading themselves, creating an environment conducive to reading. We also want parents to consider reading a family activity. We hold storytelling workshops in our office and have also launched the #ReadingIsGoodChallenge on social media by inviting people to post a photo of themselves reading and tagging people they know. to meet the challenge.

Regarding the second part of the question, the world has become digital in a major way, as well as the interests of children. It is common to see children attached to TV gadgets on the mobile phone and the computer. It is therefore essential to remember that stories can be imbibed in any form. Our attempt to reach readers digitally is to launch Tinkle and Amar Chitra Katha applications.

How did you reinvent the Amar Chitra Katha brand to reach today's children? Will we see something new in the arcs of popular characters such as Shikari Shambhu, Suppandi, etc.?

The children of today are extremely aware of their existence and the world around them. They are products of their time. They have the world at their fingertips through various devices. When I took over as Editor-in-Chief of Tinkle, I wanted to take this opportunity to raise awareness of several issues. One was gender equality and neutrality. We have introduced a range of female characters in Tinkle ranging from Aisha to SuperWeirdos and Mapui to WingStar to Nadia to NOIS, Bala to YogYodhas and Buchki to Buchki and Booligans. We strive to describe different professions in the most neutral way possible in terms of gender. You will see both women and men as mechanics and security guards, as well as heroes and villains. The same applies to pronouns. "She" is used as much as "he", even in a general context. We show boys crying and playing with dolls as much as girls climbing trees and playing rough sports.

Diversity is another subject that is close to my heart. . We live in a nation that is the original crucible of cultures. I felt that children should be aware of this diversity and yet treat it as normal. Our characters therefore have flesh tones ranging from the darkest to the lightest. We build our stories across the country. We also have protagonists who take into account their abilities and their disabilities. For example, we had a story in which a girl stopped a pizza thief by slipping into her wheelchair!

And yet, no matter what we do, Tinkle remains the same, a place where "learning, it's fun". Children do not like to be preached to. That's why every "learning" in Tinkle comes with a high dose of "pleasure".