Three decades of storytelling, over six hundred comic books, an extremely successful children’s monthly magazine, and millions of readers in India spanning at least four generations . . . This is the legacy of Uncle Pai, and this is the story of the man often referred to as “India’s Master Storyteller”.

Children growing up in the India of the 1970s, 1980s, and the 1990s, had one common factor uniting them—their lovely association with Amar Chitra Katha. They bought copies, exchanged them, bound them in sets to proudly display to everyone . . . and, even flicked them from friends, if they didn’t own a particular issue! Growing up reading his creations was an essential rite of passage that escaped no one. And all this fun, frenzy, and madness was thanks to the epoch-making vision of one man: Anant Pai.

From a small village in Karnataka to Mumbai, Anant Pai’s journey and vision, which eventually touched countless lives across many generations, is as interesting as the books he created.

Filled with little known stories from the creation of these epochal brands, Uncle Pai by Rajessh M Iyer chalks his journey and serves as a testimony of the man’s indomitable spirit that helped millions across India get to know their cultural roots. Little wonder then that we too, like innumerable children, acknowledge his contribution by saying: Thank you, Uncle Pai!

Unmind

All human pursuit is born out of a longing for happiness. Yet, this feeling is universally elusive, and when attained, it is ephemeral.

Why is it so hard to find happiness? Is there a way to make it last?

If Sri Ramana Maharshi was asked this question, he would say, “Yes, there is a way. But to get there you must first find out who you really are.”

Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950) and Ramesh Balsekar (1917-2009) are two of the greatest mystics of modern India. They taught non-duality (or advaita) as a way to Self-realization. Their teachings didn’t advocate a complex practice or a long path to enlightenment, instead they simply pointed out that we needed a correct understanding of our identity in order to be happy.