Dear Uncle Pai,
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| Uncle Pai |
Wish
you a very Happy Birthday!
Hope this letter finds you in good health
& spirit in Heaven.
Over the years I have written a lot of
letters to you along with the stories I sent for consideration for publication
in my favorite magazine- Tinkle. You replied to each and every letter of mine.
I was in school and had not understood what ‘rejection’ means. But, though your
letters were Rejection-letters, you never made me realize the same as you
always had such motivating and positive
things to say in them.
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| King Bruce & The Spider |
I learnt the story about King Bruce and the Spider thanks to you. From a young age, I learnt
that if the King of Scotland can win back his Kingdom by learning the lesson –
‘Try Try Again’ from the Spider, then so can I!
Just like my parents, even you are
responsible for empowering me with the never-say-die attitude. I always
believed that my story would, one day, be published in Tinkle. I kept on
sending my stories and you kept on replying, sending inspiring letters.
Then, D-day arrived when I was in Class
VI. I can never forget the day as I finally got the Acceptance-letter from you!
You had selected my story ‘MAGIC
PUMPKINS’ for publication! Finally, after so many months of ‘trying’! I learnt that hard-work does bear fruit! I was on
Cloud Nine when I grabbed the copy of Tinkle where my story graced the
Cover-Page! I got a royal amount by money order- the first earning of my life! After that, there was no looking
back! The number of Rejection-letters grew much lesser as you selected almost
all the stories I sent for publication! Thank you so much for that! You worked
wonders for my self-esteem.
Tinkle gave me my share of limelight and fame at School and
College where I earned admiration &
respect as I was a story-writer for
Tinkle! As the stories also carried the address of the writer, we had some
guests who visited my home to meet and congratulate me! I am very grateful to
you and Tinkle for the loads of
fan-letters I got. I have saved each and every letter like my treasure.
Even now I get some, though the frequency is very less! And yes, I got International mail too- Tinkle is
loved all over the world! I was very happy to get foreign postage-stamps for my Stamp-Collection!
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| Tinkle's 600th Issue |
You sent me an invite to meet you at your
office at Mumbai. The invitation had a date and time that was not possible for
me to attend. I always regret that I could not make it and missed the
opportunity of meeting you. I should have just asked you for an appointment
when I was visiting Mumbai next…
You will be happy to know that my child is
a great fan of Tinkle too. Her drawing was selected amongst the Top-6 for the 600th issue of
Tinkle!
12 days ago, on Teacher’s Day, @TinkleDigest had a contest on Twitter-
#TinkleTaughtMe. I was thrilled as I have learnt so many things from Tinkle
and from you.
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| #TinkleTaughtMe - My Winning Tweet |
That day I thought I’d dedicate a Blog-post to you and
Tinkle on the occasion of Teacher’s Day. I was busy tweeting for the same
contest as I really wanted to win it! Today, on your birthday, the result has
been declared! Yes! I am the Winner!
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| Amar Chitra Katha |
Today, @amazonIN had a Quiz - #UnclePaiQuiz dedicated to you on Twitter. 10 Questions were asked. The 5 winners of the same contest will win 50 Amar Chitra Katha issues each! The prize is soooooo wonderful! There was no missing it! I knew some answers & researched the rest online. Yes! I have answered all correctly! Hoping to win the awesome prize! Always happy to get Tinkle and Amar Chitra Katha as my prize!
I spent the whole evening reading about you. My knowledge about you and my respect for you has increased! Your achievements are exemplary!
You made history while retelling History, Indian Mythology & Culture.
I can’t imagine how I’d do without you and
your creations…
Thank
you for making our lives so wonderful!
Your sincere die-hard fan,
Anita
