BANGLADESH: 'TOKAII' THE EVER POPULAR POT-BELLIED STREET URCHIN CARTOON CHARACTER CELEBRATES HIS TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR IN PRINT

Record ID: 187292

  • Title: BANGLADESH: 'TOKAII' THE EVER POPULAR POT-BELLIED STREET URCHIN CARTOON CHARACTER CELEBRATES HIS TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR IN PRINT
  • Date: 7th June 2004
  • Summary: (L!2) DHAKA, BANGLADESH (RECENT) (REUTERS) MLV: BOOKSTALL/CUSTOMERS LAS: MAN HOLDING BOOK OF TOKAII CARTOONS VARIOUS: OF TOKAII CARTOONS LV: TOKAII CARTOON AT ENTRANCE TO EXHIBIT VARIOUS: PEOPLE LOOKING AT EXHIBIT DISPLAY (7 SHOTS) CU: TOKAII CARTOON MV: WOMAN SHOWING A LITTLE BOY A TOKAII CARTOON AND DISCUSSING IT WITH HIM VARIOUS: MORE TOKAII CARTOONS (5 SHOTS) MV: MEN LOOKING AT FRAMED TOKAII CARTOON PICTURE MV: TOKAII CREATOR RANABI HANDED A BOOK BY A FAN CU: RANABI DRAWS A CARTOON OF TOKAII CU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) RANABI SAYING: "Tokaii - is a street urchin, a character, which I started in 1978. So, this Tokaii, is the representative of a section we have in our country, that don't have homes, the rootless - some small boys who sleep on the streets - in the cities especially - so I thought it's better to do something on these characters - to depict the boy, I started this Tokaii." VARIOUS: STREET URCHINS PLAYING AND SEARCHING THROUGH GARBAGE FOR THINGS TO SELL (4 SHOTS) STREET URCHINS PLAYING A BOARD GAME MLV: MALNOURISHED LOOKING BOY SITS WATCHING GAME CU: URCHIN BOY'S FACE LOOKING INTO CAMERA CU: (SOUNDBITE) (Bengali) STREET URCHIN KAMRUL ISLAM SAYING: "I am Kamrul Islam. We are used to moving and living on the streets. People call us Tokaii - an artist makes cartoons about us and I have a newspaper with those cartoons. In the cartoons, he shows our life and our sorrows and suffering." MLV: RANABI FINISHING HIS CARTOON OF TOKAII SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAN AT EXHIBIT SAYING: "I think I grew up with the guy myself. So it's a very interesting character and I think Mr. Rafiqun Nabi speaks his mind through this character as I went around this exhibition. It's about the life of the people of Bangladesh, about the problems of Bangladesh." MLV: RANABI GIVES FINISHED CARTOON TO A FAN CU: FAN HOLDS UP CARTOON
  • Embargoed: 22nd June 2004 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: DHAKA, BANGLADESH
  • Country: Bangladesh
  • Topics: Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA2B0DO1M1D8B8CCULKU57OXLFX
  • Story Text: Bangladesh's most popular cartoon character - a pot-bellied street urchin named 'Tokaii' - celebrates his twenty-fifth year in print.
    A pot-bellied orphan who sleeps on the streets and forages for food in garbage dumps is Bangladesh's most beloved cartoon character, famed for his wry commentary on social and political issues.
    Created in 1978 by the cartoonist Rafiqun Nabi, who is popularly known as Ranabi, he has been delighting readers for twenty-five years with his plucky character and witty observations.
    An exhibit commemorating his twenty-five years in print is being held in Dhaka.
    Ranabi was intrigued by the lives of the thousands of street urchins living in Bangladesh's cities, and was particularly inspired by one child, on whom he based his character 'Tokaii' - which means 'collector' in Bengali.
    Most homeless children in Bangladesh collect whatever they might be able to sell from garbage dumps and street refuse.
    "Tokaii - is a street urchin, a character, which I started in 1978.
    So, this Tokaii, is the representative of a section we have in our country, that don't have homes, the rootless - some small boys who sleep on the streets - in the cities especially - so I thought it's better to do something on these characters - to depict the boy, I started this Tokaii," Ranabi told Reuters Television while attending the exhibit.
    'Tokai', a boy of about eight, is bald and clad only in a short chequered lunghi, with his stomach swollen from malnutrition. He sleeps on the streets or in the unused construction pipes common in Dhaka.
    But like many of the real street urchins who inspired his creation, he retains a sense of humour and determination, despite crushing poverty.
    Classic comments from 'Tokai' include his response when asked what he wants to be when he grows up: "A jobless vagabond, sir."
    'Tokai' says his vow on World Children's Day is "to grow up soon" adding his stomach is swollen from eating the speeches delivered at the event.
    He says "you see the sun? It gives life to everybody - except me! I'm in the dark, aren't I?"
    When asked if he knows what a family is he says, "I know mine - footpath, garbage dump and crows."
    The cartoon strip is so popular that street urchins are now commonly referred to as 'Tokaii' throughout Bangladesh.
    Real 'tokaii' also love the cartoon character.
    "We are used to moving and living on the streets.
    People call us Tokaii - an artist makes cartoons about us and I have a newspaper with those cartoons. In the cartoons, he shows our life and our sorrows and suffering,"
    said street urchin Kamrul Islam.
    Some analysts credit the cartoon character with helping increase interest in the plight of street children in poverty-stricken Bangladesh. Certainly any social reform movement in Bangladesh is often referred to as a 'tokaii'.
    "I think I grew up with the guy myself. So it's a very interesting character and I think Mr. Rafiqun Nabi speaks his mind through this character as I went around this exhibition. It's about the life of the people of Bangladesh, about the problems of Bangladesh," said one enthusiastic fan at the 'Tokaii' exhibition.
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