Who do you think is the man’s best friend?
Any guesses?
The best friend of a child or a man is literature. It is the literature which shapes up the character of individual. We cannot discount this fact as it plays a decisive role in making a complete man.
Two such piece of literature which has shaped up my generation is Amar chitra katha and Reader's Digest.
As school going kid I tried to read many Amar chitra Katha initially by buying the copies from the books store.Gods and Demigods from Indian mythology like Krishna,Ram,Shiva have played a key role in making me aware of the spirituality and good things in life.
Similarly freedom fighters like Netaji,Gandhi,Tilak were responsible to bring the awareness of the sacrifices they and innumerable others have made to make my generation live in peace.
Also Rajputs like Rana Pratap and Moghul warriors like Akbar have taught us how to fight for our honor as well co exist peacefully with tribes of different religion.The amount of mythology and history which my generation has learnt from Uncle Pai’s Amar Chitra Katha could not be learnt from the school books.
The moment I stepped out of school, with the newly acquired freedom came the responsibility of being a good homo sapien.In that age when getting your hands on various literature which are naturally titillating ,the evergreen magazine called Reader’s Digest keep you grounded and helped you to become a good human being.This piece of art created by Dewitt Wallace never grew old with the elaborate Cover story,Humor in uniform,Health in your hands and various knowledgeable stories and articles.
The beauty of Amar Chitra Katha and Reader’s Digest is that the content is not time bound.Even today you can read a 10 or 20 year article is fresh and definitely relevant.
That’s reason when money was not free flowing, buying old Amar Chitra Katha or Reader’s Digest was worth.
Both of them are so good that you can gift the subscription to your relatives and friends and you will be remembered till eternity for such a worthy act.
You can sell newspapers and old magazines to old paper marts but selling Amar Chitra Katha and Reader’s Digest is sacrilege.They are so close to you heart, no they are a part of you ,your consciousness,your being human being!
Long Live ACK and RD!!
1 comment:
Nice read !!! Both these books were my favs as well growing up..And I still own a huge collection of Amar Chitra Kathas back home..
Rani Chopra
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