The Amazing Amar Chitra Katha Comics

Amar Chitra Katha is a company that publishes comic books about Indian legends, history, folktales and fables. The artists and writers take pains to be as accurate as possible, and stay true to the stories and histories of India's magnificent past. For decades it has entertained and educated children (and adults) all over India. Now, with the invention of the internet, it is much easier to distribute these wonderful books worldwide.


When I was a child I collected Amar Chitra Katha comic books. I had quite a big collection by the time i was twelve, and I loved these books so much I could read every book over and over again. I used to look at every picture and I would think that someday I would be able to draw like that. My style of art is really inspired by these comic books.
To be honest, it was by reading these comics that I learned many of the stories about Krishna and his associates. Amar Chitra Katha have a vast collection of stories from India's ancient past, and have even made comic book versions of the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Bhagavad Gita.
It was by reading Amar Chitra Katha that I learned about the descent of the Ganga, the story of how Parvati won Shiva's heart, how Ganesha appeared, the story of Mirabai, how the Pandavas won back their kindgom, and many other tales about India's heroes.

Unfortunately I lost all my books when I moved, but I've started my collection up again. At the moment I only have 6 Amar Chitra Katha comics:

• Mirabai: The story of the princess who became a saint and could not be stopped from worshipping her beloved Krishna.

• Krishna and Rukmini: The story of how Krishna rescued a princess from a horrible marriage and took her for his own (very romantic).

• Anirudha: The story of Krishna's grandson and a great battle that began as a result of his love for the beautiful princess Usha.

• Ganga: The story of the Goddess Ganga and how she came to earth.

• The Ramayana: A comic book version of Valmiki's great epic.

• Heroes from the Mahabharata: A collection of tales about certain individual heroes who participated in India's great epic battle at Kurukshetra.
  

It's not so easy to get these books in the west. I've only ever seen them for sale either in select Indian shops or on the web. But you can get them in almost any bookshop in India.
These books are really great. I would recommend them to anyone who wants to know a little more about the stories of ancient India in a fun, easy-to-read way. And of course, the illustrations are fabuloso!


Click here to get a collection of Amar Chitra Katha on amazon.com