Beloved kiddie mag Thak Thak back after eight years in a new form

Mumbai: Those who grew up in the eighties might remember ‘Thak Thak’, an engaging and educational children’s comic book which was launched in that decade and became immensely popular over the next several years. Forced to shut down in 2014, the comic has re-emerged after an eight-year hiatus in a new form to attract a new generation of Marathi, English and Hindi readers.

The story of Thak Thak began in 1987 when Anand and Nita Toraskar, a Mahim-based couple, created the comic with city children in mind. It was humorous, action-oriented and colourful, and within a short period of time became a reading attraction for young and old alike, with more than 45,000 copies sold across the state.

Many city schools back then subscribed to the comic book. Rishikesh Dabholkar, an old-time reader, said, “I love Thak Thak because of its titles like ‘Deepu The Great’, ‘Banya’, ‘Try it’, ‘Chitrakodi’, ‘Prashmanjusha’ and others. Its popularity grew to such an extent that for some years, it had to be made available simultaneously in Hindi and English. The Toraskars also encouraged children to write along with reading.”

Over the years, however, the circulation of the comic declined, and by 2008 it hit a low of 15,000 copies. The Toraskars handed it over to others to manage but the circulation numbers remained low.

Anand Toraskar passed away during the Covid pandemic. After recovering from the grief, Nita Toraskar decided to again take charge of the comic book the two had created together with much love. “Thak Thak has been re-launched,” she said. “All the old beloved characters like Dipu The Great will once again appear in new adventures.”

Bhavin Bhalavat, publisher and marketing head of the magazine, said that they had started the Marathi version in September. “We received a very good response, and many old readers reconnected with us as readers and ambassadors to promote Thak Thak among the new generation of kids via various fan clubs on social media,” he said. “Now we have decided to start the English and Hindi versions from February 2023 with 64 pages full of edutainment content.”

When asked about the challenges to connect with children in the digital era, Bhalavat said that content would be suitably modified. “To attract readers, Banya, Deepu The Great and other characters which older readers loved will have a connect with present times,” he said. “As for older readers, they will now connect with us as subscribers for their children.”