Tinkle, and Reading Memories

I remember the last period of the day in school when I’d be itching to go back home, not for being bored of the long hours of school or even the delicious lunch mom would have prepared, but to lay my hands on a magazine which I know I’d enjoy reading for hours on end. So, the last time I’d been to Crossword, which was just a few days back, I happened to chance upon this month’s issue of Tinkle. For those of you who don’t know what Tinkle is, it is a children’s illustrated magazine which instilled a healthy reading habit in me.

  

So, instinctively, I reached out for the magazine and started browsing through it. Now, I’m reading Tinkle again after eight or ten years and I must say, they look more attractive now. The pages are glossier and the illustrations are brighter. However, I did notice some changes. For instance, the number of ads in the magazine is a lot more than they were a decade ago. Understandably, the printing prices must have gone up which must have forced them to place these ads. Then again, there are some of the ads which are made quite well, for instance, a child would read them and get influenced by it. These are ads that take up an entire page and which has illustrations and dialogues promoting the product of concern. The good thing about them is they are made in manner that a child would read them instead of turning the page by; sadly though, they take an entire page which reduces the number pages that may have been used for printing, say, a nice Suppandi tale.

Some of the older editions of Tinkle I still possess

Tinkle has retained a lot of its older, original characters. I must say, I was really pleased to read Suppandi, Tantri, Shambu; and also columns like “It Happened to Me.” Language still is, as it always has been, proper. One does not often find errors in an edition of Tinkle which motivates parents to let their children read them. Their inclusion of a few more informative sections adds to the education of children. Anyway, while I have seen most good publications die out or some which I’m about to subscribe to, dying out, it’s really heart-warming to see Tinkle still out there in the newsstands and bookstores encouraging and inspiring a lot of children to read, and write.   

When it’s a Crazy World Inside Your Head

If you ever decide to stay up an entire night without a wink of sleep, I’d suggest you, quite seriously, not to step out of home the next day. The consequences of doing so might just be hilariously serious. Although, I have spent sleepless nights (this is, in no way a metaphor, it is “sleepless” in its literal sense) burdened by the pressure of examinations or presentations, quite successfully, I realise that at 23, my body is already trying to revolt against such horrific feats. Additionally, in case you were to involve yourself in a mentally stimulating activity such as writing ten pages of a play in a single night, rest assured, you may also have to tackle a headache alongside a sore back the following morning.

Now before I get to the point, my first question to you is, have you ever been drunk before? If you have, then you may relate to a few things I will be stating in the due course of this article; in case not, then you’d understand how similar it is to stay sleep deprived and drunk.

Because you are sleep deprived, the moment you sit down anywhere in a moving vehicle, you’d fall over the next person beside you. Be ready to be pushed or tossed over to another neighbour. Please be really careful in case there are female passengers nearby (especially if you are a man) because you might just get a rude awakening.

Once you wake up, whether in between dozes or for good, you won’t be sure which stop to get down. This is because the entire world suddenly appears like a new place on Earth.

You’d wake up suddenly with a jolt thinking you've slept for hours and you've missed out on something important.

You’d smile at a stranger and when he or she doesn't smile back, politely inquire whether you went to college together.

You’d realise that people are watching you, considering you've done all or some of the above, and yet you’d wonder why they are staring at you.

You’d be extra-cautious of your mobile phones and wallet and anybody even accidentally touching you would get a stink eye.

Lastly, when you walk, brushing someone’s shoulder and apologizing to someone else, and people assume you to be slightly drunk, you’re justifying in your head what a horrid night you've had working without a wink of sleep.