'Jai Hind', says 'Tintin'

Tintin has finally learned Hindi. The adventures of the Belgian reporter, which have so far sold more than 230 million copies, will now be available in India’s national language.

Starting this month, Delhi-based publishing house Om Books International India will launch the translations. However, the names of certain characters have been changed in the translation. Tintin’s dog Snowy will be called Natkhat and detectives Thomson and Thompson will be christened Santu and Bantu.

Talking about Captain Haddock’s lines, Ajay Mago, the publisher of Om Books, says, “They have been re-invented in Hindi as karodo karod kasmasate kaale kacchuve (millions and millions of squirming black turtles), and dus hazaar tadtadate toofan (ten thousand thundering typhoons). Also, Tintin’s catchphrase ‘great snakes’ has been changed to baal ki khaal.”

Singer Rekha Bharadwaj and her 14-year-old son are big fans of Tintin. She says, “If my son doesn’t read it in Hindi, I am surely going to buy a copy for myself.”

Actor Koel Puri says, “Now, kids will have one more reason to spice up their imagination.” Even actor Rajeev Khandelwal feels the same. He says, “It’s good that a whole new generation of our kids will get to know Tintin even better now.”

The Hindi titles
Titles releasing now are Samrat Ottokar Ka Raajdand (King Ottokar’s Sceptre), Neel Kamal (The Blue Lotus), Tuta Hua Kaan (The Broken Ear), Kala Dweep (The Black Island), Misrh Samrat ke Cigar (Cigars of the Pharaoh), Tintin Congo Main (Tintin in Congo), Tintin America Main (Tintin in America), Sunhare Panjon Wala Kekada (The Crab with the Golden Claws).

The rest will be launched within a year.