Namma Kannada Nadu

Anant Pai (Founder and Editor - Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle) , popularly known as Uncle Pai was born on 17 September, 1929 in Karkala, Karnataka . At the age of two he lost his parents .At the age of twelve, he came to Mumbai, where he studied in Orient School, Mahim. He was a dual degree holder from the University of Bombay. Endowed with a passion for publishing and comics, his failed attempt at creating a children's magazine (Manav, 1954) was followed by a career as a junior executive in the Times of India books ( Indrajal comics ) division. Indrajal featured reprints of popular American strip characters such as the the Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, and later Bahadur and Dara.

During a quiz contest aired on Doordarshan in February 1967, participants could easily answer questions pertaining to Greek mythology, but were unable to reply to the question "In the Ramayana, who was Rama's mother?".This made him to leave his job and start Amar Chitra Katha, with the help of late G. L. Mirchandani of India Book House. The series went on to become a publishing milestone for the Indian comic book scene, selling over 86 million copies of about 440 titles.
In 1969, Anant Pai founded Rang Rekha Features, India's first comic and cartoon syndicate, and started the children's magazine Tinkle in 1980. His involvement with the above, and the rapport he shared with his readers earned him the title "Uncle Pai".

A sad day for our Indian comic book lovers : The frail but active Pai was admitted to a hospital last week for treatment of a fracture after he fell from a staircase. On Thursday Feb 24th 2011 , Pai suffered a massive heart attack and breathed his last around 5 p.m. He was 81 and is survived by his wife Lalitha .

Print this post Labels: amar chitra katha, anant pai, mythology, panchatantra, tinkle