A glass of steaming milky syrupy tea is best served cut. One by two or two by three, it embodies the spirit of sharing and camaraderie (and more significantly a resource crunch). Come, have a sip.
Truck graffiti make long rides on the highway more interesting. Even the title of last year's hit Singh is Kinng (I didn't enjoy the movie much) was inspired by what Akshay Kumar saw on the back of a truck.
Noticed this a few days back on NH8. Pleased to see that trucks are also spreading messages against social evils.
Kanya bhrun hatya karaoge to dulhan kahan se laoge? [If you get the female foetus killed, from where shall you get a bride (for your son)?]
Trucks travel across the country and truck art is an effective medium of communication.
The family planning slogan Hum do hamare do (We two, our two) was quite popular with the truckwallahs.
Me and so many like me learnt their history, mythology and biographies with quite an avidness, thanks to a publication called Amar Chitra Katha.
Now that venerable institution has relaunched the comic magazine in an online avatar. Though the people at ACK-Media are terming it as a 'launch', the domain amarchitrakatha.com existed for quite a while. It is only that the place has been refurbished. Amar Chitra Katha used be be a property of India Book House but late last year ACK Media acquired it (alongwith another landmark publication - Tinkle). Anant Pai (better known as Uncle Pai) is the Editor Emeritus and Chief Story Teller in the new entity.
The website is being positioned as a "hub for everything related to Indian culture and story-telling."
The site allows users to create stories and art, lists cultural events (powered by Asklaila), and the ambitious ACK Pedia that seeks to be a combo of Wikipedia, Google Knol and Citizendium but limited to India and its culture.
But I am more interested in the comics. There's one story of the week that is available for free (but not for the readers of Cutting the Chai), to access the rest you need to pay $0.99 (Rs 40) per issue. I find the pricing a bit too high to be able generate widespread interest. In this digital age premium pricing often backfires.
It will indeed be a 'pleasure' to see characters (read nubile nymphets) that we grew up with in a digital avatar.
Though the site highlights only one story a week and the others are supposedly inaccesible to the general readers, you can find them here (I just dug out the appropriate links):
ACK Media might take off has taken off the content if they realise realised that I'm giving people a sneek free preview of Amar Chitra Katha comics here.
In this online world, you either show all or know how to hide it proper. There's always someone lurking around the corner.
By the logic that if it is viewable it is downloadable, you can download for free Amar Chitra Katha.
But then I wouldn't like to delve into that. Free online reading is fine for now.
But ACK Media should lower the prices, else people would do just that.
The music industry hasn't yet learnt its lesson, the comics industry should.
Me and so many like me learnt their history, mythology and biographies with quite an avidness, thanks to a publication called 
