"Children are the most valuable resource and its best hope for the future." - John .F. Kennedy
Children with schooling start to read and write. With reading their journey with the treasure of books commences and opens up a whole new world. Childhood and comics are inseparable. Most children begin reading when they are around 6 years old. Some start as early as 4 or 5. At this point, they can begin to read simple comic books that are made for children.
The English-language term comics derives from the humorous (or "comic") work which predominated in early American newspaper comic strips, but usage of the term has become standard for non-humorous works as well.
COMICS IN INDIA :
Chitrakatha (Hindi: चित्रकथा, Telugu: చిత్రకథ) are comics or graphic novels originating from India published in a number of Indian languages. India has a long tradition of comic readership and themes associated with extensive mythologies and folk-tales have appeared as children's comic books for decades.
With regard to comics in South India ,the Dravidian languages with the most speaker are Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam, all of which have long literary traditions. smaller literary languages are Tulu and Kodava. These languages promoted comics and many turned out to be popular through ages.
The major south Indian languages have enough of children's Literature along with comics. Children in those days are exposed to healthy reading through these, apart from their academics.
The first and the famous comics of the South India are:
MALAYALAM :
Poompatta from PAI AND PAI company - PAICO, was the first truly popular children's magazine in Kerala. N.M. MOHAN, the editor of Poompatta of the time 1978-82 is considered as :"the architect and designer'' of all the later ''children 's magazines'' of Kerala.
KANNADA :
Chutuka was drafted in 1991, by N SUNDAR RAJAN OF SANGAM PUBLICATIONS and is published by APROOVA PRINTERS, BENGALURU, KARNATAKA
TAMIL
RANI comics - the simple idea was used to create comic books more than a 100 years ago. today, the comic book is one of the most popular art forms around the world. 90's kids favourite comic collections by Rani comics is Thanga raja (007 james bond)
Siruvar malar, rathna bala, ambuli mama are the other children's magazines which had a section of comics
TELUGU:
Chandamama was a classic Indian monthly magazine for children, famous for its illustrations. It also published long running mythological / magical stories that ran for years. Originally , '' chandamama' was started in Telugu by chakrapani and Nagi Reddi, who later became noted Telugu film producers.
THE REASONS TO ENCOURAGE READING COMICS:
* Evidence and research is stacking up to prove that comic books make their readers smarter. Comics make you want to read, and they use complex language which improves verbal intelligence. Like steroids for the mind, comics can even take struggling readers and make them stronger!
* Comics build reading confidence. Books like comics let kids explore genres and learn what they love and that they may actually like the process of reading. So when (or if) they are ready to branch out into more text-heavy narratives they do so with enthusiasm.
* Reading comic books requires a person to read between the lines, draw interpretations, and synthesize the information. By interacting with both the text and images, the reader can easily comprehend and visualize the story. The more they do this, the easier and quicker they can build their reading comprehension skills.
* They usually offer short and easy-to-read sentences, alongside other visual and text cues (e.g. character sighs, door slams etc.) for context. They're also helpful for children with learning difficulties; children with autism can learn a lot about identifying emotions through the images in a comic book.
Encourage children to have a lovely bond with Comics and let them bloom wonderfully in the garden of life.
By the way what 's your favourite comic book and character? Do share it in the comment.
Agree with you that children learn to read best if it goes with a simple illustration and if it also happens to be funny. Love the trove of information you have provided about comics in Dravidian languages. I remember reading CHACHA CHAUDHARI and ARCHIE comics. These days I am a big fan of Dilbert comic strips, I use them at work sometimes to lighten things up.
ReplyDeleteHappy to know about your like for comics.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it is the skill of reading that's most important. The reading material itself should be though differently as there's too much reading material nowadays that isn't appropriate to read as well. There's even other books that's published to be a children's book but teaches inappropriate things that isn't for children to read. Comics is great as long as the parents themselves have tried to understand what the comic is about and sure that their children would really get something good from it.- MommyWithAGoal
ReplyDeleteAnything done under parents supervision is best.
DeleteAs a child my parents would subscribe comic books for me and as soon as I received them I would be done with it in a day or two. I wish to continue the same tradition with my little one also.
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful.
DeleteComics open up a whole new world of imagination, something which is very important for little ones. My elder daughter still hasn't started yet. She's more into fiction.
ReplyDeleteChildren need to be encouraged with their creativity.
DeleteYes, you are right. Children learn to read when they saw illustration. They show more interest in reading. Though my child read Novel I haven't introduce yet comics. Thank you for reminding me. This summer holiday will be the best for that. My favorite comics were "Chintu" and "Chacha Choudhary" and my favorite character is "Sabu"
ReplyDeleteNice to know
DeleteAwwww Anuradha.. your post made me nostalgic. I used to love comics n I read them all the time. Tinkle was my all time favourite n I read n read n read. My fav character was Suppandi. I also read a lot of Amar Chitra Katha comics... mythology etc.
ReplyDeleteHappy to know about your love for Tinkle
DeleteI really agree with your point. Comic books benefit not only your child's learning skills but also spark their imagination and language development. Many parents may consider their child's interest in reading children's comics a waste of time and money.
ReplyDeleteYes, Parents need to understand about comics and encourage children too.
DeleteIam an avid reader and it al started with comics! Tinkle, Amar Chitra Katha, Walt Disney, Gokulam, Chandamama, Champak.....all were monthly regular purchases in our home. Still love reading them on and off!
ReplyDeleteFor many reading starts with comics only.
DeleteI and my brother grew up reading a fair share of Amar Chitra Kathas, Indrajal Comics, Tinkles, and all. Lately graphic novels too have become popular, but comics do have a special place in my heart. My favorites were Spy Vs Spy, Suppandi, and the bumbling Shikari Shambhu.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing about your favourite comics
DeleteTo me comics is the basic steps of introducing kids to the world of reading, colors, imagination and learning. I was introduced to comics by my parents and I instantly fell in love with it and literature started entering my life from then only. Now being a mom I am all set to introduce the same to my child too.
ReplyDeleteGlad to know that you are going to bring in the joy of reading comics to your child.
DeleteI totally agree with your points.. One of the best and most obvious benefits of comic books is that they can be more fun and easier to read than regular books. This can be extremely appealing to young children who would otherwise have little interest in reading traditional forms of books.
ReplyDelete-Anjali
Exactly.
DeleteI have read so many comics when I was a kid. I loved reading chacha Chowdhary, suppandi, akbar birbal, etc., reading comics helps develop the habit of reading in kids and that should be encouraged by all parents.
ReplyDeleteYes.
DeleteAmar Chitra Kathas are still very popular. Comics are a great way to educate children in a form and language they enjoy. My kids used to read a lot of them.
ReplyDeleteComics should be bought in the form and language the child likes.
DeleteYou are absolutely right, I miss older times when comic books was tge best time pass. Children use yo literally keep them between study book n read so parents will not catch them.
ReplyDeleteYES.
DeleteI was a comic buff, and could read for hours in the library. Comics now are a dying art and need to be reinstated to their former glory. I really wish that write ups like yours will help revive comic book culture.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading the blogpost.
DeleteThe love for comics is such that.
ReplyDeleteI second your thought. Comic books are more appealing and helps kids to pick up reading at much early stage due to illustration.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by
DeleteCompletely agree with you on the importance of comics. My son absolutely loves them and they have become the stepping stones to his self-reading journey.
ReplyDeleteNoor
Happy to know.
Delete