BackBETWEEN THE LINES: Stories that stay
Amar Chitra Katha adds two stories by Munshi Premchand to its Contemporary Classics series
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Munshi Premchand, one of the finest storytellers in Hindi, has been much celebrated in popular culture. Two of his stories, Sadgati and Shatranj Ki Khiladi, were adapted to film by Satyajit Ray. Several other movies in the regional languages have been based on his work, though this robust afterlife in the public consciousness, and in other media, has not necessarily ensured Premchand’s continued appreciation among a new generation of readers.
Two of Premchand’s stories have recently found yet another life, this time in the form of a comic book, as part of the Contemporary Classics series, created by Amar Chitra Katha (ACK).
Except through the odd tale or an excerpt studied as part of school curricula, young readers may not be familiar with Premchand’s literary legacy. And it is for this reason ACK’s idea of presenting literary gems in an easy, accessible, and visually appealing format is laudable.
The eminently affordable comic books (priced at ₹ 50 as opposed to most other indigenous and foreign publications in the same format, which are usually several times pricier) can now be read on an app as well, currently running on Windows 8. (ACK is planning to make their books available on other platforms soon.) In order to tap into the regional market, ACK has also started translating its English titles into Tamil, Gujarati, Marathi, Assamese, Bengali and Hindi, says Manas Mohan, chief operating officer of ACK. The vision of the company is to include writers from all languages and regions of the country in its list, adds Reena Puri, editorial head of ACK. The idea is to not only make classic tales available in as many languages as possible but also to encourage and evolve a readership in the vernacular languages.
Although primarily known of its championing of mythological and historical texts, ACK has, over the years, branched into biography of personalities as diverse as mountaineer Tenzing Norgay, hockey-player Dhyan Chand and Verghese Kurien, the man who was responsible for the white revolution in India.
In Do Bael, a morality tale about a pair of cattle, Premchand conveys a message of kindness towards animals. The illustrations in the ACK version, based on the ligne claire (clear line) style, captures the playful energy of the two beasts. In spite of the latent violence and their brush with near death, their adventure finds a happy resolution, and reminds us that even the mutest of creatures have enough of an agency to cause havoc among their more evolved counterparts.
The theme of compassion spills over into the other tale in the collection, Budhi Kaki, which recounts the woes of an aged aunt, neglected by the very family she entrusts her property to, in return for care and attention in the winter of her life. Although the cruelty is mostly inadvertent, and the perpetrators make amends for their misdeeds, the story remains intensely haunting for the way it captures the complexity of a social reality through strikingly simple visuals.
This fortnightly column talks about readers, writers and publishers of the past, present and future.
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