Garuda
I don't remember when I read my first Amar Chitra Katha. Along with Target, Chandamama, Champak and to a lesser extent Tinkle, it is an indelible part of my memories of growing up. Some of my closest friends claim I haven't grown up yet, but I digress. Although I wasn't as much a fan of ACKs as I was of say, Detective Moochwala, I found them interesting, adventurous, and educational.
I went on a nostalgia trip recently when KP bought, for an unknown reason, a huge number of Amar Chitra Kathas. Apart from the pricing, little seems to have changed. I still find them interesting, although for quite different reasons. Here, for example, are a few pages from Garuda. This snippet explains how Garuda got his name:
As can be seen, enjoying these comics demands a suspension of disbelief equal to that required while reading Superman, or watching Crank for that matter. I pity the poor parents when their kid, as precocious as they come these days, starts questioning them on some very obvious questions thrown up by Garuda: Why are the tortoise and elephant the same size? Why is it so unremarkable that four people are hanging upside down from a tree in the midst of nowhere? Why does Garuda have to eat the elephant and tortoise?
All that, of course, provided the parent can provide a satisfactory answer on how the rishis intended to pursue their vocation in the Himalayas. All very mysterious and unexplained. If any of you can understand and translate, pray comment.
I went on a nostalgia trip recently when KP bought, for an unknown reason, a huge number of Amar Chitra Kathas. Apart from the pricing, little seems to have changed. I still find them interesting, although for quite different reasons. Here, for example, are a few pages from Garuda. This snippet explains how Garuda got his name:
As can be seen, enjoying these comics demands a suspension of disbelief equal to that required while reading Superman, or watching Crank for that matter. I pity the poor parents when their kid, as precocious as they come these days, starts questioning them on some very obvious questions thrown up by Garuda: Why are the tortoise and elephant the same size? Why is it so unremarkable that four people are hanging upside down from a tree in the midst of nowhere? Why does Garuda have to eat the elephant and tortoise?
All that, of course, provided the parent can provide a satisfactory answer on how the rishis intended to pursue their vocation in the Himalayas. All very mysterious and unexplained. If any of you can understand and translate, pray comment.
From Webster's:
ReplyDeleteMain Entry: vo·ca·tion
Pronunciation: vO-'kA-sh&n
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English vocacioun, from Anglo-French vocaciun, from Latin vocation-, vocatio summons, from vocare to call, from vox voice -- more at VOICE
1 a : a summons or strong inclination to a particular state or course of action; especially : a divine call to the religious life b : an entry into the priesthood or a religious order
So that's cleared up, then... :)
But then, if the religious call came from the himalayas, what were they doing on the tree? All very mysterious. Wheels within wheels. We should read more of the stuff. ACK, that is.
ReplyDeleteSenti: Thanks. And yes, we should keep an eagle eye out for more ACKs at the bookstores we haunt.
ReplyDelete