He was full of enthusiasm, full of positive energy and full of life. How those days whizzed by I have no clue. Those were some of the best days of my life. I can still recall the words, the laughter, and the sheer energy that rubbed off on me. I had known him since I was barely 6-7yrs old. I used to read his works almost every single day of my childhood years - the man we all lovingly know as ‘Uncle Pai’. :)
Mr. Anant Pai or Uncle Pai as he is popularly known started one of the most amazing children’s comics ‘Tinkle’. He was creator of the famous Amar Chitra Katha series. There might hardly be any kid in India who hasn’t read one of his books. He was the pioneer when it came to Indian comics.
I am back, writing this blog after a gap of almost 8months, because after hearing what I heard sometime back, I simply cannot contain my thoughts, memories and my experience of interacting with Anant uncle to myself.
I was in the 10th grade when there was a circular announcing there was to be a workshop in our school and that it was going to be conducted by none other than the man behind Tinkle… Tinkle, the one book I had an yearly subscription for... possibly my first experience when it came to cultivating the habit of reading (not in the 10th grade silly :P 10th grade was more the world of Sidney Sheldons, Jeffery Archers, Robin Cooks .. and of course Mills & Boon ;) ).
When I met him, he did not look more than 50-55yrs old. Little did I know then that he was actually all of 70years! At 70, he could have beaten any 10year old at being energetic and full of life. As the days progressed, we learnt so much from him. I cannot believe it’s been a decade since then… an era!
During one of the exercises to evaluate our concentration power, he had divided us all in pairs and had asked us to find certain letters in a puzzling gamut of letters of the English alphabet. He was so surprised when I scored 50/50 in all three of them… I think that moment has been etched in my memory forever... I had beamed with pride and still do whenever I recall that incident! But for him, I never would have realized my potential in a lot of areas. I owe part of my self-confidence to him. Thank you uncle! J
On the last day of the workshop, he asked me to come and stand beside him. In front of the entire gathering he asked me if I was happy with my height. I went red with embarrassment and lied – I said yes. I am very sure he did not buy my answer and hence went on to give us the example of Shivaji Maharaj, who despite his stature did what barely few had the courage to even attempt.
So that was Uncle Pai for you. A friendly, warm person who made a difference in my life and I’m sure he has touched the hearts and lives of a lot of young kids, just the way he touched mine. J
Uncle Pai passed away this evening. But he will continue to live in our hearts forever. We will miss you uncle!
A tribute which I came across–
Tinkle, Tinkle Uncle Pai,
How I wonder where you are,
Up above the world so high,
Like a nice man in the sky.
How I wonder where you are,
Up above the world so high,
Like a nice man in the sky.
Befitting! :)
