Celebrating comic heroes on Children’s Day

Though most of our time was consumed in playing games such as hide and seek, pitthu, kho-kho and pedalling around the locality on bicycles, yet children’s comics and magazines held an important place in our lives. Television had not yet invaded our homes in the ’70s when we were growing up in a joint family.

Chacha Chaudhary and Sabu, his friend from Jupiter, were the most popular comic characters in those days. Chacha Chaudhary’s brain and Sabu’s brawn worked in tandem to nail small-time hooligans and capture our imagination.

Then, there were Motu, Patlu and their coterie who added to the entertainment quotient of children. No matter how sincere their intentions, they always ended up in a soup.

Tenali Rama was another character who caught our fancy as children. An astute minister in the durbar (court) of Krishnadevaraya, he was at the beck and call of the king to solve knotty affairs of the kingdom with his wit and wisdom. As kids, we had no doubt that he was the most intelligent person on earth.

Chandamama was a children’s magazine full of stories exuding warmth, virtue and honesty. I have lost count of the number of times I hid under the bed to read the magazine to escape the prying eyes of my cousins. Vikram aur Betaal was a series savoured by one and all. Stories told by the spirit always ending up putting us in a dilemma and made for an excellent exercise for mental strength.

Bahadur was another comic book superhero we were all fond of. Bela was Bahadur’s confidante and was skilled in martial arts. She assisted him in all missions against villains.

We couldn’t afford to buy all comic books but the fascination and penchant for our fictitious superheroes was such that we would read them sitting on the steps of shops that rented comics by the hour, in one go.

Phantom left us amazed and intrigued. When he rode the horse along with his wolf, Devil, to confront and annihilate evil-doers, his heroics were astounding.

Then arrived Amar Chitra Katha that took the world of children’s comics by storm. The comics had an entertaining storyline that left us spellbound. The series introduced us to the life and times of gods and goddesses, kings and queens and the men and women of substance in history.

In our adolescent years, we were introduced to Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Tintin besides Supandi and Shikari Shambhu.

Afternoons were long and the nights were calmer in the days of the yore. We had ample time to curl up in a corner, read and ponder.

Nowadays, I don’t know what children are reading apart from their textbooks. But I can guess from the eyes glued to the screen, ears plugged and a furrowed brow that aliens have invaded earth and the hero is trying to save humanity by risking his life.

AFTERNOONS WERE LONG AND THE NIGHTS WERE CALMER IN THE DAYS OF THE YORE. WE HAD AMPLE TIME TO CURL UP IN A CORNER, READ AND PONDER