Anant Pai
Anant Pai (Konkani: अनंत पै) (17 September 1929 – 24 February 2011), popularly known as Uncle Pai, was an Indian educationalist and creator of Indian comics, in particular the Amar Chitra Katha series in 1967, along with the India Book House publishers, and which retold traditional Indian folk tales, mythological stories, and biographies of historical characters. In 1980, he launched Tinkle, a children's anthology, which was started under Rang Rekha Features, India's first comic and cartoon syndicate, that lasted till 1998, with him as the Managing Director.Today, Amar Chitra Katha, sells about three million comic books a year, in English and more than 20 Indian languages, and has sold about 100 million copies since its inception in 1967 by Anant Pai, and in 2007 was taken over by ACK Media.
Early life and education
Born in Karkala, Karnataka to Venkataraya and Susheela Pai, he lost his parents at the age of two. At the age of twelve, he came to Mumbai, where he studied in Orient School, Mahim. He studied chemistry, physics and chemical technology at the University of Bombay Department of Chemical Technology (UDCT now UICT) and was a dual degree holder from the University of Bombay.
Early Carrer
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 division, putting him in the thick of affairs when Indrajal comics was launched by the Times Group.The Amar Chitra Katha years
The idea behind starting a comicbook series devoted to Indian culture and history came to Pai from a quiz contest aired on Doordarshan in February 1967, in which 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?"[1][7]
He left his job and started Amar Chitra Katha the same year, with the help of late G. L. Mirchandani of India Book House, when most other publishers from Allied Publishers to Jaico had rejected the concept. Later, he took on the role of writer, editor and publisher. The series went on to become a publishing milestone for the Indian comic book scene, selling over 86 million copies of about 440 titles.
The idea and proposal for Amar Chitra Katha was made by a Bangalore book salesman called G.K. Ananthram which led to the first Amar Chitra Katha comics being produced in 1965—in Kannada, not English. “The English ACK titles begin from number eleven because the first ten were in Kannada,” clarifies Ananthram. To Anathram’s satisfaction, the venture was a great commercial success which lead to the head office in Mumbai pursuing the Amar Chitra Katha idea diligently, and the rest is history. “They brought in Anant Pai” says Ananthram. “And he built a wonderful team and a great brand.”
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".
Awards
Lifetime Achievement Award - at the First Indian Comic Convention, New Delhi (19 Feb 2011 - just 6 days before his death) was given to him by Pran, Creator of Chacha Chaudhury
Karpoorchand Puraskar of Uttar Pradesh Bal Kalyan Sansthan (1994)
Yudhvir Memorial Award in Hyderabad (1996)
Maharashtra Rajya Hindi Sahitya Academy Award (1996)
Dr. T. M. A. Pai Memorial Award in Manipal (1997)
University of Bombay Department of Chemical Technology's Distinguished Alumnus Award (1999)
Millennium Konkani Sammelan Award, Illinois, U.S.A (2000)
Raja Rammohan Roy Library Foundation's Award (2001)
Priyadarshni Academy Award (2002)
Vishwa Saraswat Sammaan (2003)
Death
Anant Pai was admitted to a hospital regarding the treatment of a bone fracture following a fall from a staircase. After some days, when he was recovering, he suffered from a massive heart attack on 24 February 2011 early in the morning. He died later that day around 5 PM.
