Back in 80s we grew up on "Amar Chitra Katha" comics (in both Bengali and English). These old Indian comics were one of the four pillars of my childhood reading, the other three being Indrajaal, ChandaMama and Tintin's adventires. The popular Asterix came much later in my life. Like most of the kids in 70/80s decade, my childhood life was also made immensely colorful by the umpteen stories revolving around invincible Gods and Godesses, Devas, Asuras, Rishis, National/Historical heroes, and brave warriors. My favorite was Jataka Tales & Birbal. They’re still very much available though and even have a website where they ship their comics worldwide. Everything’s exactly the same, except they don’t run ads anymore and print on better paper, even have hardcover editions.
Indrajal comics brought us "Mandrake the Magician" and the "Phantom". Amar Chitra Katha was Anant Pai / Mohandas team’s answer to Western comics, to teach Indian children their own heritage through a familiar medium, dealing mostly with Indian history, mythology and legends: even though the art and narration sucked in the beginning, it soon became much more professional.
The amazing story of Amar Chitra Katha started in 1967-68 when an attempt to translate the myriad tales from Indian history and culture into comics was made to cover a wide spectrum of titles. It was the creative genius and foresight of the legendary editor, Anant Pai and the entrepreneurial zeal and courage of the publisher G.L. Mirchandani, that gave birth to a brand which delighted generations of children as well as their parents, since then.
Through the medium of comics, Amar Chitra Katha brought to life the colourful mythologies and legends of India. "The Route to your Roots" was the catch phrase coined to describe the efforts of Amar Chitra Katha to tell tales of heroes and heroines from Indian mythology, history and folklore.
These comics enriched my storehouse of stories manifold. I still feel that my knowledge of folk tales, tales from Buddhist Jatakas, Jainism, Panchtantra, classics of various Indian languages and Hindu myths is much more than most others. All thanks to Amar Chitra Katha which made me associate each story with beautiful illustrations and well chosen dialogues.
Amar Chitra Katha touches the roots of our hearts because we identify and relate ourselves to it in a more natural way which does not happen with Phantom and/or Mandrake comics even though they too make interesting reading.
Nowadays we live in bay area where there is a large Asian population. Time to time I buy these comics books from my kid's School's 'Book Sale' event. Most of these books are based on famous historical figures or on Hindu or Buddhist religious stories. Some of the interior art is not of as high quality, but the covers are great.
Indrajal comics brought us "Mandrake the Magician" and the "Phantom". Amar Chitra Katha was Anant Pai / Mohandas team’s answer to Western comics, to teach Indian children their own heritage through a familiar medium, dealing mostly with Indian history, mythology and legends: even though the art and narration sucked in the beginning, it soon became much more professional.
The amazing story of Amar Chitra Katha started in 1967-68 when an attempt to translate the myriad tales from Indian history and culture into comics was made to cover a wide spectrum of titles. It was the creative genius and foresight of the legendary editor, Anant Pai and the entrepreneurial zeal and courage of the publisher G.L. Mirchandani, that gave birth to a brand which delighted generations of children as well as their parents, since then.
Through the medium of comics, Amar Chitra Katha brought to life the colourful mythologies and legends of India. "The Route to your Roots" was the catch phrase coined to describe the efforts of Amar Chitra Katha to tell tales of heroes and heroines from Indian mythology, history and folklore.
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| "ACK - The Acrobat - Buddhist Tales" |
Amar Chitra Katha touches the roots of our hearts because we identify and relate ourselves to it in a more natural way which does not happen with Phantom and/or Mandrake comics even though they too make interesting reading.
Nowadays we live in bay area where there is a large Asian population. Time to time I buy these comics books from my kid's School's 'Book Sale' event. Most of these books are based on famous historical figures or on Hindu or Buddhist religious stories. Some of the interior art is not of as high quality, but the covers are great.
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In today's post we have a set of Buddhist Tales - "The Acrobat". The first, 'The Acrobat', is about Ugrasena's transforming from the royal treasurer's son to an acrobat to a follower of Buddha. In the second story, 'The Harvest', Buddha teaches a farmer about the benefits of detachment. Buddha explains the ills of desire to the young Prince Kumara in the third story, 'The Golden Maiden', and finally, 'Buddha and Krisha Gautami', is one of the more famous stories, wherein Buddha teaches the distraught Gautami about the inevitability of death.
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| The Acrobat (Size: 13.5 MB) |
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