Today’s kids only want to read Tintin, Asterix

What are kids reading most in the country’s cultural capital, Kolkata? Comics, if you go by what’s selling most at the Children’s Book Fair, currently under way in the city. Clearly, reading habits have taken a beating, thanks to the onslaught of television, computer games and the internet.

At Ananda Publishers, a key player in the vernacular children’s books space, an official agreed that reading habits had suffered. “There are a few takers, especially among pre-teens and younger kids. But they don’t come looking for fairly tales. Instead, they want comics, age-old favourites like Tintin and Asterix and vernacular detective heroes like Feluda and Byomkesh Bakshi.”

According to Arun Bhuwalka, joint secretary of the Children’s Book Fair, the number of stalls has doubled from 100 in 2006 to 200 this year. But comics lead the charge along with books on computers and general knowledge.

16-year-old Karan Ghosh, a ninth standard student at Don Bosco, watches a lot of television and reads “only comics. Tinkle and Archies are my favourites.”

Four-year-old Ayantika Roy of Carmel High School, and a Tom & Jerry freak, insists on buying comics whenever her mother takes her shopping.

But if word power is on the wane, there’s nothing comical about it. Says a city-based psychologist: “This is a spin-off of television. Fast-moving images attract kids because one does not need to have longer attention span.”

“Today’s kids are intelligent but they are also into several activities and pressed for time. Comics being less taxing mentally help them unwind,” he adds.

Pinaki Sengupta, regional sales manager, Navneet Publications, however, is still hopeful about children’s reading habits. “Age-olds books like Aesop’s Fables and Jataka Tales’ are still in demand, but have to be offered in a new package. We have to make the book more attractive, using larger fonts, more colour and pictures.” Navneet has 1,000-odd kids’ titles to its credit.