RIP, Uncle Pai...

"The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it.

- By James Bryce

My journey with Amar Chitra Katha began even before I could talk and read. It began when I was a mere toddler crawling on fours all over my grandparents’ house. My granny strongly believed that book reading habit should be instilled in children as early as possible and as a result, the house was strewn with Amar Chitra Katha comics even when I could barely talk. She would show the colored pictures and narrate the stories of Rama, Krishna, Abimanyu and other mythological figures. As I grew up, I would spend hours together seeing the pictures and eventually reading the comics myself.

My first Tinkle copy was a gift from my mom dad when I stood second for the school in my first grade final examination. I’ve been a regular subscriber to this day and still enjoy the comic capers of Suppandi and Shikari Shambu. While Uncle Anu and Tinkle Tells You Why greatly appealed to the geeky me since I was a kid, the cheeky antics of Ramu Shamu and Anwar had me in splits. I would genuinely feel sorry for Chamataka and his partner in crime Doob Doob, every time Kalia outwitted them to save the sprightly Keechu and Meechu. I hated Tantri, the Mantri with all my heart, for trying to harm the loveable King Hooja.

I was always awed by the imagination of children like myself when I read their stories published in each issue. I secretly wished my name was published too and wrote letters after letters dreaming of the day I could show off my name and address published in the comic to my friends.

A very old edition of Tinkle first introduced me to the word “Tsunami” and I was fascinated by the power of waves. I even remember the Japanese folk tale associated with the phenomenon, which was mentioned in the issue. My family and I remembered this, years later, when the fateful Tsunami stuck our very own coast.

The greatest moment of my life was when I met Uncle Pai in person. This was sometime in Jan 2009 when Amar Chitra Katha conducted a quiz on Indian Mythology in schools across the country. The first round was conducted at individual schools and the top 15 of each participating school in that round were qualified to the regional round at Woodlands Hotel, Bangalore. Though I lost out in that regional round, I remember the hundreds of teenaged Amar Chitra Katha enthusiasts like myself looking forward to participating and winning the comic hampers. And not to mention, each semi finalist got to shake hands with Uncle Pai himself. When I requested him for an autograph, he laughed heartily, signed my prize copy (Amar Chitra Katha’s Lal bahadur Shastry) and said, “Do something for the country like this great man”.. I was on the seventh heaven for almost weeks after that.

It came as a shock today morning to read in the newspapers that our beloved Uncle Pai (17 September 1929 – 24 February 2011) is no more. It was funny, the way we were aware of Uncle Pai and never knew his real name for ages - Anant Pai. We referred to him as Uncle only, like some fond relative whose visit we always looked forward to. Albeit in the form of a 30 page comic book, once a fortnight!!

To the simple bespectacled man I met about 12 years back, who was responsible for making my childhood more memorable than it could have been otherwise, who was my role model on par with Enid Blyton, who was indirectly instrumental in turning me into an avid book lover and who is the beloved Uncle to thousands of children who grew up anywhere in the last three decades.. Rest in Peace, Uncle Pai!!