Remembering Uncle Pai: The Man Who Gave Us Amar Chitra Katha And Tinkle

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[{"type":"txt","id":"rich_1519476289472","data":"My apologies in advance for not writing this sooner, I've been sick with a spot of fever which unexpectedly took a longer time than usual to heal, likely I'm just getting old. Anant Pai passed away on February 24th of 2011 and left behind generations of young people who looked up to him and his comic books. I write this in his memory. This one is for you, Uncle Pai.<\/i><\/p>In 1976, a bunch of school students found themselves staring at copies of a brightly illustrated comic book series based on Indian Mythology sitting at their desks, confusing many because comics were heavily frowned upon in schools. What the students did at the time was that they were part of a test, something that would eventually shape the future of what India consumes for its entertainment, leading the last few generations to pick up a medium that would have otherwise never been mainstream in India. <\/p>The books students were given were the now famous Amar Chitra Katha, the brainchild of one Anant Pai, a former journalist and, at the time, a man with a mission. After establishing the Amar Chitra Katha brand in 1967, Anant Pai struggled for years to get it published - a feat that proved to only be half the battle - and accepted with sellers and in schools. Schools at the rejected comic books as a lower form of literature, some still do despite the excellent amount of literature published in this format, and sellers did not want to stock the ACK brand for it was relatively unknown at the time. <\/p>So here he was, Anant Pai, 9 years later in 1976, convincing a school in Delhi to let him conduct an experiment where one half of the target group would read the Amar Chitra Katha while the other half would read their regular coursework and then take the same test. The idea was to see which group of kids would score higher marks on the same test, albeit with different books to study from. <\/p>The test results turned out overwhelmingly in favour of the kids who read the Amar Chitra Katha, proving Anant Pai's point that kids retain knowledge better when they study it in a format that is more acceptable and accessible by them and changing the landscape of Indian comics for years to come. Thus was born the Legend of Uncle Pai. <\/p>"},{"type":"img","id":"img-uid-1519478460044","data":"5a9194443390e"},{"type":"txt","id":"rich_1519478461944","data":"I was a weird kid growing up. I mean, I did play sports and had friends but at the same time while most of the kids would be out playing, I would be trying to read the newspaper and eagerly pouring over the comics section and the editorials, trying to read the written word which was - and still remains - a fascinating endeavour for me. But the child-like wonder and the thirst to read more was still something quite raw and underdeveloped in me as a tiny kid, something that changed the day I discovered ACK and Tinkle. <\/p>Uncle Pai would go on to establish Tinkle in 1980, the monthly comic magazine that would give us legendary characters like Shikari Shambu, Suppandi, Tantri the Mantri, Kalia the Crow and not to forget The Anu Club, featuring the young scientist Anurag Sharma and his club of bright kids that learned - and by extension also teaching us eager readers - science. I've lost count of the number of plastic scales I've broken under a flat piece of newspaper to test the pressure air puts on a paper. <\/p>To think all of this would have not ever happened if it wasn't for Uncle Pai's unquestionable faith in his own work and the message he was trying to send to young kids. <\/p>As the story goes, in 1967, the 38-year old Anant Pai caught a quiz show segment on TV in New Delhi's Karol Bagh, on which young and confident looking Indian students were quick to answer questions about Greek Mythology - not that I blame them, Greek Mythology is terribly interesting - but failing to answer even basic questions about Indian Mythology. Now, the usual reaction to such display of such perceived obtuseness is usually shaking your head at the TV set and grumbling about how 'this generation's kids are so spoiled', but where everyone else saw a dazzling display of bewilderment, Anant Pai saw an opportunity, one born out of an honest need to educate children about the very same cultures they come from. <\/p>So he did what every enterprising individual with a bright - sometimes not so bright - idea does. <\/p>He quit his job.<\/p>"},{"type":"img","id":"img-uid-1519489490241","data":"5a91bdb20a900"},{"type":"txt","id":"rich_1519489493322","data":"Anant Pai had experience with comics before; after trying his hand at studying Chemical Engineering, he dropped out of college and joined The Times of India, where he was put in charge of the Indrajal Comics, which was responsible for bringing The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician and Flash Gordon to the country. By the time he quit his job, Uncle Pai would soon realise that he was fighting an uphill battle, overcoming societal expectations, public disinterest and the biggest task of them all, getting a child interested in the story he was selling. <\/p>Nobody wanted to work with the idea, he struggled to find a publishing house that would support his line of comics that he was calling Amar Chitra Katha, ACK for short. Eventually, GL Mirchandani of India Book House agreed to support the venture after Uncle Pai persuaded him to give it a shot. <\/p>With a publishing house powering his idea, Uncle Pai had another problem to solve: distribution. Nobody wanted the ACK comics, as mentioned earlier in the article. It was only after a man that goes by the name of Mr. Rao, a former teacher, joined the organisation that the idea to test it out in the school came about. <\/p>News of their little experiment spread like wildfire around New Delhi, it was as if an avalanche had been triggered, except instead of snow, this one had eager parents who wanted their children to learn more about Indian mythology. One school after another, ACK became established and well-respected brand and 13 years after their little experiment, Uncle Pai started the Tinkle line of comics <\/p> <\/p>"},{"type":"img","id":"img-uid-1519490164282","data":"5a91a7cc76576"},{"type":"txt","id":"rich_1519490165951","data":"But all the history does not do justice to the man that was Uncle Pai. After establishing Tinkle, he would take the time to respond to the many letters he would receive from the eager kids that read the monthly, referring to him as the now famous moniker 'Uncle Pai'. Some of the published letters would make it to the pages of Tinkle, which would also later go on to feature more letters by young readers about their experiences. <\/p>His favourite thing to do, however, was to gather kids and read from his comics. He took great delight in the act and continued to do so until the end of his days, garnering admiration and fans across generations. <\/p>On Feb 24th, 2011, days after he had been honoured in the country's first Comic-Con, Anant Pai passed following a heart attack at the age of 82. He left behind a generation of readers and comic book fans that owe him their love of reading and discovering more comic books and literature while also educating us about our culture and teaching us to be kind via his comics. <\/p>To Uncle Pai, I now write this not as a 26-year old but as an 11-year old child to whom you read the story of Arjun's excellence at archery, I wish you could be around to see the children you inspired prosper for even longer, to send a personal letter to many other young children like myself who had attempted to send you a story to publish in Tinkle, to being the excellent man that you were, a different kind of man from a different era of the country, men who seem to be fast disappearing in this day and age. Thank you for all that you've done for us, I promise to carry on your legacy to the generation that comes after me and beyond. <\/p>Here's to you, Anant Pai. <\/p>17 September 1929 - 24 February 2011<\/p>"}]

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