Amar Chitra Katha: How it Preserves India's Heritage

chillibreeze writer — Anusha Naveen Baitmangalkar

Contemporary India has woken up to superheroes such as Superman, Batman, and more. But for a long time, Amar Chitra Katha brought to life Indian classics, epics like the Mahabharata and fables like the Jataka tales. Each tale, as told in Indian history/mythology, talked of heroism, sacrifice and devotion. This captured the imagination of Indians of all ages and Amar Chitra Katha, for its part, successfully brought out these virtues through its stories.

Apart from giving mythological characters a new lease of life, Amar Chitra Katha has been successful in making the “not so well-known heroes” pretty popular as well. In sharing knowledge about these heroes and heroines who have made India proud, Amar Chitra Katha has become a unique force that is saving Indian heritage from extinction.

The most memorable contribution would be the creation of Tinkle characters. Whether it is retelling folklore in the simplest way or describing the escapades of Suppandi, the simpleton, or narrating how the clever crow, Kaalia, gets the better of the cunning fox, Chamtaka and his equally cunning associate, Doob Doob. The list only gets better with Shikari Shambu, the bumbling hunter, who manages to “catch’ his prey every time!

The style of story telling adopted is very unique and has been a rage for a long time now. So what makes this brand click? Amar Chitra Katha does not look to copy any foreign comic. Also, it has, over time, established its sense of belonging with the Indian audience worldwide. It not only brings color into our lives but also brings about a sense of pride through its stories.

As a young girl, I was addicted to comics like Chandamama, Phantom from Diamond comics and Mandrake the magician. But somehow these seem to have lost their audience. Contrastingly, Amar Chitra Katha, has gained popularity and a larger audience base thanks to the unique content.

So how does Amar Chitra Katha preserve India’s heritage?

The biggest contribution would be to bring the stories in the limelight. Our forgotten traditions, values and morals get that much needed focus through this publication. One of the major features is that on the one hand it brings out Birbal’s cleverness and on the other hand it portrays Mulla Naseeruddin’s witty escapades.

Tinkle, its flagship publication, is not only a mere collection of stories and facts but also a ‘mini encyclopedia’ for a reader who is interested in a wholesome experience as far as reading is concerned. This, in fact, has kept the art of reading in tact.

In an age, where reading has lost its appeal and learning has taken a backseat, Amar Chitra Katha, through has restored the faith. Though it has assumed a digital avatar, most of its audience is interested in the printed version of the publication. In its endeavor to publish Indian stories, Amar Chitra Katha has managed to not only portray India’s heritage but also has been able to restore the same.

So, in a realistic sense, Amar Chitra Katha has managed to create a niche as far as its market, reach, subscription base through its unique but Indian content. In the context of modern India, Amar Chitra Katha has managed to create a ripple, perhaps something more than that, as it brings out folklore, devotional tales, animal tales, folk tales from foreign countries, fact-based articles (uncle Pai) and many more memorable content.

And if anyone has any doubt as to what Amar Chitra Katha has done to preserve Indian heritage, ask yourself this question? But for these comics would you have known Indian mythology at all?

Sites like Wikipedia have evolved only in the recent era. But Amar Chitra Katha has managed to capture the imagination of its readers through these years. With Amar Chitra Katha seeking different media, Indian literature, mythology and folklore, will surely get that facelift it needs.

Editor's note: Most articles submitted to Chillibreeze go through a selection process. Only 30 percent of submitted articles are accepted for publication on the Chillibreeze.com featured article list. All accepted articles are edited and proofread for glaring errors of punctuation and grammar. Sentence structure is changed in certain cases and sometimes, entire sections are rewritten. If you notice any errors that have slipped through the cracks, do let us know! (Email us at info at chillibreeze dot com).

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in May, 2011. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

More on Chillibreeze.com

Other popular articles on Chillibreeze

Nagala – A Haven in Your Backyard
Be Your Own Surrogacy Sleuth
How to Pack for India
Ten Tips for Working From Home
Ten Tips for NRIs Returning to India

Out of 5 “chilies”, our editorial team gave this article...

—About our writer:

Anusha is a a qualified Hindi translator, content developer and a 2d -3d artist. She has written online ads for Yahoo. She is currently based in Bangalore.

>> Read more articles written by Chillibreeze writers:

More resources for Writers on Chillibreeze.com

Chillibreeze offers Indian writers the opportunity to work on customer projects. We are also India’s biggest writer network and a one-stop shop for Indian writers and editors. The writers’ section on Chillibreeze offers freelance writers and editors a variety of tools to advance their careers. Resources for writers include:

Assessment of your writing, editing and proofreading skills

Writing courses

Expert Feedback on your article

An opportunity to promote yourself on our website

Top websites for Indian writers

Tips and resources for Indian freelancers

Book Publishing services

And more………………..

Explore our writers’ section using the links on our left-hand side menu.