For those of us who remember a time when the blackberry was just a fruit and Shaktimaan the ultimate superhero, the death of our beloved Uncle Pai has led to melancholy mixed with nostalgia. Uncle Pai — few knew his real name, Anant Pai — gave us our first desi comic strip, the Amar Chitra Katha series. The 81-year-old comic book pioneer, whose simple stories accompanied by colourful illustrations enthralled generations, died of cardiac arrest in a Mumbai hospital on Thursday evening. Anant Pai sought to teach little Indians about their heritage through simple stories that were fun and engaging.
Children and their parents will miss you
A traditionalist to the core, he believed that strong cultural roots and solid understanding of one’s heritage was the key to success. In fact, when the Amar Chitra Katha series — which brings to life the Ramayana and the Mahabharata — was first introduced in the 1960s, it was essentially for educational purposes. The turning point came while Anant Pai was watching a quiz contest where the young participants were unaware of Lord Rama’s mother but knew all about the gods of Olympus. It was then that he took it upon himself to bring back the fascinating world of India’s cultural heritage to the children of the country. The year was 1967 and Anant Pai was a junior executive at the books division of The Times of India, where he had already been actively involved in the production of Indrajal Comics. Soon, he left his job and launched the Amar Chitra Katha series. The first issue, Krishna, came out in 1970 but received only a lukewarm response. It took another four years for the project to take off, but once it did there was no stopping Uncle Pai from becoming a household name. He travelled often and extensively, meeting with his young readers and persuading their teachers to use comic books as an educational tool. He even organised nation-wide contests for children and in fact that was how he discovered 12-year-old girl Elaine D’Lime who helped create Anant Pai’s comic magazine, Tinkle — India’s first modern day comic that was a roaring success. Across the country, children and adults alike took to the foolish Suppandi and the conniving, Tantri the Mantri. Once again, simple illustrations and bold colours brought to life Uncle Pai’s magical world as it both entertained and educated another generation of young Indians.
Little wonder that Uncle Pai’s comics have already sold more than 100 million copies and have been translated into several languages. His comic and cartoon syndicate Rang Rekha Features has now become ACK Media and Uncle Pai who had no copyright over his own creationa served as its Editor Emeritus and Chief Storyteller. His demise is a terrible loss for young Indian readers who know little beyond the mindless world of Spongebob Squarepants but hopefully when they stumble across the Amar Chitra Katha series at the iTunes Apps store, they will let themselves be amazed.
Little wonder that Uncle Pai’s comics have already sold more than 100 million copies and have been translated into several languages. His comic and cartoon syndicate Rang Rekha Features has now become ACK Media and Uncle Pai who had no copyright over his own creationa served as its Editor Emeritus and Chief Storyteller. His demise is a terrible loss for young Indian readers who know little beyond the mindless world of Spongebob Squarepants but hopefully when they stumble across the Amar Chitra Katha series at the iTunes Apps store, they will let themselves be amazed.
