Ardent comic fans, listen up – Wai Knot, a 10-year-old boy, who hails from Bengaluru, is Tinkle’s newest toon! Excited enough? You should be! Speaking about how the character is reflective of many of our most cherished childhood experiences in namma city; the team gets chatty with us…
A product of the in-house writer Sean D’Mello and illustrating artiste Vineeth Nair, Wai Knot is a light-hearted take on the present day kids and the inability to fobb them off with just a plain no.
Speaking of the same, Sean adds, “Instead of merely following what is being told to them, kids today choose to map their own way. They prefer to scrape their knees and bruise their elbows before accepting that they might be wrong. I love writing for Wai Knot. He makes no excuses about who he is and doesn’t hide how he feels. That’s also where Kia, his best friend, fits in perfectly. She understands why Wai does what he does and mostly sticks around just for the laughs at his expense.”
But most importantly, the lovable character was crafted with an intent to strike a chord with all age groups. “When Sean and I sat down to discuss about Wai Knot, it was clear that we wanted to create something which would build a connect with every kid. Or perhaps, invoke the child in very reader. We wanted to keep the character realistic, amusing and simple — nostalgic traits that most of us can attribute our childhood with,” shares Vineet Nair, the 29-year-old caricature artiste, who will be illustrating Wai for all the forthcoming fortnightly editions.
Speaking about how the character was born as a response from the readers, Rajani Thindiath, editor, says, “ Pretty much like most of us when we were growing up, the idea was to make light of the word ‘no’, something that most kids often hear from authoritative figures. We wanted the character to say things or do things that immediately develops a connect with the reader.”
Adding to how the metropolitan vibe of the city was one of the determinants to pick it as the place for Wai Knot, Savio Mascarenhas, the group art director says, “A city like Bengaluru seemed like a good option as our other characters were based either in North East or Central India. The fact that Bengaluru happens to be one of the most popular cities in the south with a large number of youths made it a more viable option. We were certain the Garden City had some of the most beautiful childhood tales to tell.”
