Google honours Uncle Pai with doodle

Today’s Doodle is one that hits close to home. The birth of comic book creator and educationalist Anant Pai is on the Google homepage today. Pai was born on the 17th of September, 1929. He came to Mumbai at the age of 12 and eventually studied Chemistry, Physics and Chemical Technology at University of Bombay Department of Chemical Technology. The idea of Amar Chitra Katha, his series of comics based on Indian mythology, came to him in 1967 when he was watching an Indian quiz show and the contestants could answer questions based on Greek mythology, but not Indian mythology. After much rejection from publication houses, G.L. Mirchandani at India Book House took him on. The series has sold over 860 million copies of over 440 titles. In addition, other comics that he has created include Ramu and Shamu, Little Raji and Rekha. He died earlier this year, on the 24th of February.

Google’s inciting some nostalgia today

The Doodle itself is very reminiscent of Pai’s comic styling. He appears in two panels, one where he is sitting at his desk and the other where he is standing by a shelf of comic books. The Google logo is inscribed in the background across the two panels. If you look carefully, in the panel where he is standing, there is also a Tinkle comic near his right elbow with one of his more popular characters, Suppandi on the cover. This reporter is quite fond of Suppandi and his adventures; the character also has a Twitter account. Do you have a favourite Amar Chitra Katha story or an Uncle Pai generated character? Unleash your childhood in the comments section below.

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