Amar Chitra Katha
Amar Chitra Katha is a comic book series from India that sought to retell stories from Indian mythology, history, folklore, and culture in illustrated format.
The Early Years
The series was the brainchild of the renowned educationist and writer, Anant Pai. Pai, a former journalist with the Times of India was once appalled when students at a Quiz contest could answer questions related to Greek mythology easily but could not answer a simple question from the Ramayana, the Indian epic. This was in 1967, and Pai, already on the verge of striking out on his own in the publishing scene left his job and started Amar Chitra Katha the same year. He was helped by G.L Mirchandani of India Book House, when most other publishers from Allied Publishers to Jaico Publishing House had rejected the concept. India Book House became the de facto distributors of the series. This humble venture went on to become a publishing milestone for the Indian comic book scene, selling over 86 million copies of 436 titles.
Initially, the Mirchandanis were wary of two things—copyright issues and offending Indian sensibilities and so the first ten issues of Amar Chitra Katha were based on popular fairy tales India Book House had the rights to, like Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk. Meanwhile, Pai along with artist Ram Waeerkar worked on a comic that would be true to his vision of what Amar Chitra Katha was all about. Krishna was released in 1969 in English and Hindi, and was an instant bestseller. This was followed by other popular tales from Indian mythology such as Shakuntala, Hanuman, Ramayana, and The Pandava Princes, among others. The lucid storytelling and the vivid artwork, inspired by the imagery of the nineteenth century artist Raja Ravi Verma proved immensely popular.
People
Writers like Kamala Chandrakant, Margie Sastry, Subba Rao and C.R Sharma joined the creative team of Amar Chitra Katha, with Pai taking on the role of editor and co-writer on most scripts. The notable illustrators, other than Waeerkar, were Dilip Kadam, Souren Roy, C.D Rane, Geoffrey Fowler and Pratap Mullick.
The Comics
The original printings of Amar Chitra were not in full colour—because of budgetary constraints, the panels were printed using yellow, blue and green. Subsequent issues, however, changed to full colour. All Amar Chitra Katha books stuck to a monthly (later fortnightly) 30-page format, with emphasis on lucid, entertaining storylines. The only attempt at a serialized story was the 42-issue rendition of The Mahabharata and the nine-volume Bhagawat Purana, based on the story of Krishna ( individual issues of both these stories had both been published before).
Occasionally there were "bumper" issues with 90 pages, most collecting stories of a similar type from individual issues( Example: Monkey Stories From The Hitopadesha, Tales of Birbal) and some being longer stories ( Example: Jesus Christ, The Story of Rama). As the mythological stories became more popular, the team began to publish stories based on Indian history, of men and women belonging to different regions and religions and also on stories based on Sanskrit as well as regional classics. The continuous popularity of the comics led to reprints being issued frequently, which ensured that the back-issues remained in print throughout the seventies and the eighties. At the height of its popularity, in the mid-eighties, it had been translated into Bengali, Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Sanskrit and Urdu and selling a million copies every fortnight. Some titles were also translated into French, Spanish, German, Swahili, Fijian, Bahasa, and Serbo-Croat.
Towards the mid-nineties, the original comics were reprinted in sleeker and more durable editions, with thick cardstock covers and better colour separations. A revised numbering system was also introduced for these newer editions, increasing the number of titles to above 700. These editions are the ones still sold online and in bookstores to this day.
Cultural Significance
Amar Chitra Katha was launched at a time when Indian society was slowly moving away from the traditional joint family system, because of (among other things) socio-economic constraints and urbanization. In a joint family system, grandparents would regale the children of the household with tales from folklore and the epics, and the Amar Chitra Katha series served to fill the lacuna left by grandparents in the smaller nuclear families in urban areas. The choice of English as the primary language led it to reach the majority of children who studied in English medium schools.
Later, when the comic veered towards history, it proved very helpful to students. For most, Indian history, a jumble of names and dates, came alive as stories. The detailed research of architecture, costumes, regional flavours and facts ensured that the comics were widely accepted into the mainstream, both parents and teachers using them as educational aids. To an extent, these books, with their homogenized and unbiased character descriptions went a long way in promoting national integration and increasing inter-provincial awareness throughout the country.
It should be mentioned that the series steered clear of controversy, taming down content and violence and adhering to strict self-censorship. The stories might also be termed excessively Indocentric and idealistic, and hence might not be "history", per se.
An Incomplete List of Titles
| Comic ID | Title |
|---|---|
| 69 | Agastya |
| 78 | Shridatta |
| 96 | Sharan Kaur |
| 100 | Purushottam Dev and Padmavati |
| 116 | Kadambari |
| 121 | Veer Dhaval |
| 134 | Babur |
| 181 | Guru Har Gobind |
| 227 | Sadhu Vaswani |
| 229 | Shankar Dev |
| 230 | Hemu |
| 236 | Bahaman Shah |
| 259 | The Miraculous Conch and a Game of Chess |
| 282 | The taming of Gulla |
| 284 | Albert Einstein |
| 285 | Joymati |
| 287 | The Pious Cat and other tales |
| 289 | The Elusive Kaka |
| 292 | Chokha Mela |
| 295 | Guru Arjan |
| 296 | Mahamati Prannath |
| 298 | Damaji Pant and Narhari |
| 302 | Dhola and Maru |
| 303 | Senapati Bapat |
| 325 | Jagadis Chandra Bose |
| 328 | Rajbala |
| 330 | Vidut Chora |
| 330 | Vidyut Chora |
| 348 | The Birth of Indian National Congress - I |
| 398 | Chennamma of Keladi |
| 403 | Narayana guru |
| 421 | Krishna: The Lord of Dwaraka |
| 430 | An Exciting Find |
| 432 | The Indus Valley Adventure |
| 501 | Krishna |
| 502 | Hanuman |
| 503 | The Sons of Rama |
| 504 | Rama |
| 505 | The Gita |
| 506 | Shiva and Parvati |
| 507 | Nala Damayanti |
| 508 | Chanakya |
| 509 | Ganesha |
| 510 | Buddha |
| 511 | Savitri |
| 512 | Tales of Vishnu |
| 513 | Hanuman to the Rescue |
| 514 | Tales of Durga |
| 515 | Ganga |
| 516 | Krishna and Rukmini |
| 517 | Vivekananda |
| 518 | Krishna and Jarasandha |
| 519 | Elephanta |
| 520 | Tales of Narada |
| 521 | Angulimala |
| 522 | Krishna and Narakasura |
| 523 | Raman of Tenali |
| 524 | Indra and Shibi |
| 525 | Tales of Arjuna |
| 526 | Mahiravana |
| 527 | Bheema and Hanuman |
| 528 | Kumbhakarna |
| 529 | Karttikeya |
| 530 | Shakuntala |
| 531 | Karna |
| 532 | Sudama |
| 533 | Abhimanyu |
| 534 | Bheeshma |
| 535 | Mirabai |
| 536 | Ashoka |
| 537 | Prahlad |
| 538 | The Churning of the 0cean |
| 539 | Rani of Jhansi |
| 540 | Panchatantra - The Jackal and the War Drum |
| 541 | The Lord of Lanka |
| 542 | Draupadi |
| 543 | Jataka Tales - Monkey Stories |
| 544 | Subhas Chandra Base |
| 545 | Birbai the Wise |
| 546 | Vali |
| 547 | Garuda |
| 548 | Rabindranath Tagore |
| 549 | Tales of Shiva |
| 550 | Sati and Shiva |
| 551 | Tulsidas |
| 552 | Tansen |
| 553 | Jataka Tales - Jackal Stories |
| 554 | Jataka Tales - Elephant Stories |
| 555 | Jataka Tales - Deer Stories |
| 556 | Hitopadesha - Choice of Friends |
| 557 | Birbal the Witty |
| 558 | Birbal the Clever |
| 559 | Birbal the Just |
| 560 | Panchatantra - How the Jackal ate the Elephant |
| 561 | Panchatantra - Crows and Owls |
| 562 | Panchatantra - The Brahmin and the Goat |
| 563 | Rana Pratap |
| 564 | Shivaii |
| 565 | Drona |
| 566 | Surya |
| 567 | Indra and Shachi |
| 568 | Vikramaditya |
| 569 | Malavika |
| 570 | Dasharatha |
| 571 | Dhruva and Ashtavakra |
| 572 | Ancestors of Rama |
| 573 | Jataka Tales - Bird Stories |
| 574 | Jataka Tales - The Magic Chant |
| 575 | Jataka Tales -- The Giant and the Dwarf |
| 576 | Jataka Tales - The Mouse Merchant |
| 577 | Harishchandra |
| 578 | Kesari The Flying Thief |
| 579 | Madhvacharya |
| 580 | Birbal the Inimitable |
| 580 | Fa Hien |
| 581 | Raman The Matchless Wit |
| 582 | Mahabharata |
| 583 | Panchatantra- The Greedy Mother-in-law |
| 584 | Gopal the Jester |
| 585 | Panchatantra- The Dullard and other stories |
| 586 | Jataka Tales - Stories of Wisdom |
| 587 | Birbal the Genius |
| 588 | Guru Gobind Singh |
| 589 | Krishna and Shishupala |
| 590 | Guru Nanak |
| 591 | The Syamantaka Gem |
| 592 | Ghatotkacha |
| 593 | The Pandavas in Hiding |
| 594 | Mahavira |
| 595 | Sri Ramakrishna |
| 596 | Raja Bhoja |
| 597 | Tales of Shivaji |
| 598 | Vikramaditya's Throne |
| 599 | Vishwamitra |
| 600 | Kalidasa |
| 601 | Tales of Sai Baba |
| 602 | The Quick-Witted Birbal |
| 603 | Akbar |
| 604 | Prithviraj Chauhan |
| 605 | Padmini |
| 606 | Rani Durgavati |
| 607 | A Bag of Gold Coins |
| 608 | Bhagat singh |
| 609 | Friends and Foes - Animal Tales from the Mohabhorata |
| 610 | Ravana Humbled |
| 611 | Babasaheb Ambedkar |
| 612 | Urvashi |
| 613 | Soordas |
| 614 | Jataka Tales - True Friends |
| 615 | Jataka Tales -Stories of Courage |
| 616 | Jataka Tales - Tales of Misers |
| 617 | Jataka Tales - The Hidden Treasure |
| 618 | Birbal to the Rescue |
| 619 | Jataka Tales - Nandivishala |
| 620 | Hitopadesha - How Friends are Parted |
| 621 | Udayana |
| 622 | The Tiger and the Woodpecker |
| 623 | Kabir |
| 624 | Dayananda |
| 625 | Battle of Wits |
| 626 | The Pandava Princes |
| 627 | Harsha |
| 628 | Ramana Maharshi |
| 629 | Uloopi |
| 630 | Rana Sanga |
| 631 | Chaitanya Mahaprabhu |
| 632 | Vidyasagar |
| 633 | Tales of Maryada Rama |
| 634 | Chandragupta Maurya |
| 635 | Amrapali |
| 636 | Krishnadeva Raya |
| 637 | Yayati |
| 638 | King Shalivahana |
| 639 | Krishna and The False Vasudeva |
| 640 | Paurava and Alexander |
| 641 | Gopal and the Cowherd |
| 642 | Shah Jahan |
| 643 | Ratnavali |
| 644 | Gandhari |
| 645 | Lokmanya Tilak |
| 646 | The Pandit and the Milkmaid and other Tales told by Ramakrishna |
| 647 | Lal Bahadur Shastri |
| 648 | Samudra Gupta |
| 649 | Tales from the Upanishads |
| 650 | Mahatma Gandhi - The early days |
| 651 | Baddu and Chhotu |
| 652 | Aruni and Uttanka - Tales from the Mahabharata |
| 653 | Jayadratha |
| 654 | Tales of Balarama |
| 655 | Anand Math |
| 656 | Adi Shankara |
| 657 | Vasantasena |
| 658 | Jahangir |
| 659 | Devi Choudhurani |
| 660 | Ajatashatru |
| 661 | Kacha and Devayani |
| 662 | The Learned Pandit - Tales told by Sri Ramaknshna |
| 663 | Aniruddha - A Tale from the Bhagawat |
| 664 | King Kusha - A Buddhist Tale |
| 665 | The Deadly Feast - A JatakaTale |
| 666 | Kannagi - Based on a Tamil Classic |
| 667 | Bikal the Terrible - Folktales from Madhya Pradesh |
| 668 | The Acrobat - Buddhist Tales |
| 669 | Ashvini Kumars - Tales from the Vedas |
| 670 | The Golden Mongoose |
| 671 | The Cowherd of Alawi |
| 672 | The Priceless Gem - A Jataka Tale |
| 673 | Ayyappan |
| 674 | Vasavadatta |
| 675 | Mangal Pande |
| 676 | Rana Kumbha |
| 677 | Magic Grove |
| 678 | Veer Savarkar |
| 679 | Swam Pranavananda |
| 681 | Amar Singh Rathor |
| 682 | Tanaji |
| 683 | Bahubali |
| 684 | Lachit Barphukan |
| 685 | Chand Bibi |
| 686 | Chandra Shekhar Azad |
| 687 | Panna and Hadi Rani |
| 688 | Bimbisara |
| 689 | Tripura |
| 690 | Lalitaditya |
| 691 | Hiuen Tsang |
| 692 | Veer Hammir |
| 693 | Jayaprakash Narayan |
| 694 | Guru Tegh Bahadur |
| 695 | Nahusha |
| 696 | The Historic City of Delhi |
| 697 | Chandrahasa |
| 698 | Ram Shastri |
| 699 | Jagdish Chandra Bose |
| 700 | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| 701 | Noor Jahan |
| 702 | Nachiketa |
| 703 | Tales of Yudhishthira |
| 704 | Jallianwallah bagh |
| 705 | Bappa Rawal |
| 706 | Sakshi Gopal |
| 707 | The Tiger-Eater |
| 708 | Subramania Bharati |
| 709 | Jagannatha of Puri |
| 710 | The Fearless Boy and other Buddhist Tales |
| 711 | Celestial Necklace |
| 712 | Andhaka |
| 713 | Fool's Disciples |
| 714 | The Queen's Necklace |
| 715 | Ramanuja |
| 716 | Adventures of Agad Datta |
| 717 | Baladitya and Yashodharma |
| 718 | Basaveshwara |
| 719 | Chandralalat |
| 720 | Kapala Kundala |
| 721 | Rash Behari bose |
| 722 | Megasthenes |
| 723 | Jnaneshwar |
| 724 | Bagha Jatin |
| 725 | Sultana Razia |
| 726 | Ranjit Singh |
| 727 | Raja Raja Chola |
| 728 | Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das |
| 729 | Bajirao |
| 730 | Shrenik - Jain tales |
| 731 | Ellora Caves |
| 732 | Swami Chinmayananda |
| 733 | GD Birla |
| 734 | banda bahadur |
| ? | Bhanumati |
| ? | Hari Singh Nalwa |
| ? | Para Shukoh and Aurangzeb |
| ? | Parashurama |
| ? | Pareekshit |
| ? | Prabhavat |
| ? | Prince Hritadhwaja |
| ? | Pundalik and Sakhu |
| ? | Ranak Devi |
| ? | Rani Abbakka |
| ? | Sea Route to India |
| ? | Sukhu and Dukhu |
| ? | Tarabai |
| ? | The Battle for Srinagar |
| ? | The Glory of Rashtrakootas |
| ? | The Rainbow Prince |
| ? | The Secret of the Talking Bird |
| ? | The True Conqueror |
| ? | Tipu Sultan |
| ? | Valmiki |
| Bhagawat - krishna avatar | |
| dasha avatar | |
| Ramayana | |
| Sati Savitri | |
| Shalivahana | |
| Thyagaraja |