Uncle Pai dies at 81, leaves behind a legacy

Mumbai: Founder of popular comic series, ‘Amar Chitra Katha’, Anant Pai died on Thursday after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 81.

Popularly known as Uncle Pai to his young readers, he helped millions of children discover the fascinating world of Indian mythology through his world famous comic strip.

The shy but affectionate man was perhaps the first in India to introduce comics based on Indian mythology in 1967. The idea came to him after he watched a TV quiz in which contestants knew Greek mythology but couldn’t name the mother of Lord Rama.

Initially, most publishers were skeptical about Pai’s vision but his persuasion and belief led to the launch of the first title ‘Krishna’. Since then ‘Amar Chitra Katha’ has been one of the most widely read Indian comic series of all times. And today, ‘Amar Chitra Katha’ sells about three million comic books a year in more than 20 different languages.

Pai is survived by his wife Lalitha.