Prince Siddhartha Gautama of the Shakya clan left his family and kingdom after he saw the four symbols.He met many teachers and learnt many practices to realise the nature of human existence.
He did not give up
Gautama devoted himself to severe austerities for several years. His body wasted away, yet enlightenment eluded him. Looking at his single-minded dedication, his band of ascetics was sure that he was about to reach realisation. Then one day Buddha walked towards a river, splashed water on his face and felt refreshed. He accepted food from a passer-by woman and he ate a full meal after many months. His companions were aghast and felt disappointed that he had abandoned his spiritual quest at this point and they left him. But a renewed energy began to course through Gautama’s body. He had not given up. He had just changed direction.
Illustration: Souren Roy | Script: S.K. Ramachandra
Mucalinda
Then Gautama sat under the Bodhi (peepal) Tree in Bodh Gaya, Bihar to meditate. The skies darkened and heavy rain fell. It was then that the King of Serpents, Mucalinda rose from beneath the earth and protected Gautama with his hood. After the storm passed the serpent king took a human form, bowed joyfully to the mendicant and returned to his palace in the nether worlds.
Mara
Mara, the Buddhist ‘Lord of the Senses’ tried to tempt Gautama on several occasions. As he meditated under the Bodhi tree, Mara appeared as a messenger with the news that his family had been dethroned. Next, Mara sent his three daughters, Trsna, Rati, and Raga (thirst, desire, and delight) and tried to distract him. He also frightened all the gods who had come to honour Gautama with a storm of rain, rocks and ashes. But he did not succeed in breaking Gautama’s dedication to his spiritual quest.
Illustration: Souren Roy
The dawn of enlightenment
After sitting for 49 days in meditation, as dawn broke, Gautama was bathed in the light of complete knowledge. It was as if a door had opened within him. He was now a Buddha or one who has attained wisdom. Brahma appeared to Gautam Buddha and urged him to teach the people what he had realised.
The first sermon
Buddha then set out for Benares to find his erstwhile companions. They had left him earlier because they thought that he had abandoned the path of spirituality. He found them at a grove at Sarnath called the Deer Park.
Illustration: Souren Roy | Script: S.K. Ramachandra
When they saw him coming, they decided that they would ignore him. They felt that they did not need him. But as he drew nearer, they noticed a great change had come over him. He was noble, majestic and so mesmerising that they hastened to meet him.
Here he delivered his first sermon, ‘The Dharma Chakra Pravartan’ or the turning of the wheel of law. He discussed the ‘Middle path’ and the ‘Four Noble Truths’ which are the tenets of Buddhism.
Thus, Siddhartha Gautam came to be known as Gautam Buddha on attaining the highest spiritual knowledge and began to spread it amongst all the people.
Read the full story of the Enlightened One in our title Buddha, now available on the ACK Comics App, Kindle, Flipkart, Amazon, and other major e-tailers.
Siddhartha Gautama, who was later known as the Buddha, was born into the royal family of the Shakyas in present-day Nepal, close to the Indian border. Tall, strong, and handsome, Prince Siddhartha was exceptionally intelligent and compassionate.
It was predicted that he would either become a great king or a powerful spiritual leader. Since his parents wanted a powerful ruler for their kingdom, they surrounded him with every kind of luxury. They were worried that a glimpse of worldly sorrows may influence him to choose the path of a renunciate.
The wounded bird
Illustration: Souren Roy | Script: S.K. Ramachandra
Once while taking a walk together, Prince Siddhartha’s cousin Devadatta, shot an arrow and got a bird down. Both the boys ran towards it. Siddhartha picked up the bird, gently removed the arrow and tended its wound. Devadatta too reached the spot and he claimed the bird as his kill. When Siddharth refused to part with it, Devadatta took his cousin to court for justice.
Siddhartha reasoned, “The one who nurses have a greater right than one who aims to kill.”
The judge ruled in his favour and gave him the bird. When the wound healed, and the bird recovered fully, Siddhartha set it free.
The four symbols
In spite of his parents’ efforts to shield him from suffering and keep him away from the spiritual path, Siddhartha did get a glimpse of the transient nature of the world. On four successive chariot rides outside the palace grounds, he came upon a diseased man, an old man, a corpse and a wandering holy man. These four encounters are known as the Four Signs.
Illustration: Souren Roy
Prince Siddhartha Gautama was so deeply affected by these incidents that he decided to lead an ascetic’s life and search for freedom from the suffering caused by the infinite cycle of birth, death and rebirth.
Soon thereafter, he left his wife Yashoda, his son Rahul and all the pomp and glory of his father’s court to search for the true meaning of life and living.
Thus began the spiritual quest of this prince of the Shakyas which, many years later, transformed him into the Shakyamuni (the sage from the Shakhya clan) or the Buddha (the enlightened one).
Read the full story of the Enlightened One in our title Buddha, now available on the ACK Comics App, Kindle, Flipkart, Amazon, and other major e-tailers.
Simple language garbing a complex thought process; that is the essence of the poetry of Kabir Das. He used the language of the common man and examples from an ordinary life and spoke that extraordinary truth, which is beyond the grasp of many a learned scholar and philosophical tomes.
Life
Born in 1398, Kabir’s parentage is unknown and hotly debated. He was brought up by a weaver named Niru and his wife Nima in Varanasi. They practised Islam. His spiritual teacher was Swami Ramanand, a Hindu. However, his own religion was one that he discovered within himself. He followed a path illuminated by his own experience, which was a far cry from the dogmas and doctrines of any of the faiths around him. He married a hermit’s daughter named Loi, but was not really interested in the affairs of the world. The religious leaders of all the faiths around him found his unconformity threatening. However, Kabir was unconcerned with their views and distilled his inner growth into a treasure of poetry.
Illustration: Umesh Burande | Script: Dolly Rizvi
Kabir’s Work
Coming from an economically humble background, Kabir was unlettered and had no opportunity to study any of the scriptures. Yet, his poems are filled with a deep meaning and spirituality that is hard to find elsewhere. His ‘koi bole Ram Ram, koi Khudai…’ reflects his belief in the oneness of the Godhead. This thread of oneness forms the bedrock of Kabir’s literary and philosophical work.
In some other verses, he urges people to follow the path of righteousness and maintain a purity of heart and mind. Devotion, unshackled by the fetters of caste, colour, creed, rituals and religion is the dominant aspect of Kabir’s philosophy and reflected in his poetry. He talks about a formless God, who can be attained only by inward reflection, devotion and love.
His work exists in three major regional variants namely the Eastern (the Bijak), Rajasthani (Kabir – Granthavali) and Punjabi and Hindi (contained in the Adi Granth of the Sikhs). The language he used is a mixed dialect also known as the ‘khadi boli’. His poems are not adorned with any literary embellishments, they spring from the earth he was connected to and are simple and straightforward.
Kabir is famous for his ‘dohas’, which are still popular among the common people and are very lyrical. He also wrote ‘padas’, which are short rhymed poems. The shlokas or ‘sakhis’ that he wrote are a part of the Granth collection. They are terse utterances that are the ‘witnesses’ to the ultimate truth. He mixed Hindu and Muslim references to convey his belief in the oneness of God. He openly spoke about the weaknesses of both Hinduism as well as Islam.
This mystic poet is studied by scholars of poetry as well as philosophy. He is probably one of the most iconic figures of the Bhakti and Sufi movements in 15th century India, which stood for a coming together of all humans in a surge of devotion towards God.
The Kabir Panthis
The followers of Kabir’s philosophy are called Kabir Panthis. Many of them write poetry along the same lines as Kabir. However, Kabir himself encouraged people to explore and learn for themselves.
Kabira kabira kya kare, socho aap sharir Pancho indriya vash kare, so hoy das Kabir.
Why are you quoting Kabir, think for yourself Control your five senses and then you can be Kabir.
Kabir’s poems have been translated by many scholars both in India and abroad. Rabindranath Tagore too translated and made available these verses in his ‘One Hundred Poems of Kabir’. This mystic poet is said to have passed away around 1518. His death, too, is shrouded in mystery. It is said that his body turned into a heap of flowers, half of which was claimed by the Hindus and half by the Muslims. Kabir’s poetry remains as relevant today as it was so many years ago.
Read the complete story of Kabir on the ACK Comics App. Our title Kabir is also available on Amazon, Kindle, Flipkart, and other major e-tailers.
Apart from a widely read and celebrated author in India, Khushwant Singh was also a famous public figure, lawyer, journalist and politician. He was a nominated member of parliament from 1980 to 1986, an editor for The Illustrated Weekly, National Herald and Hindustan Times and had a weekly column named ‘Malice Towards One and All’ which was printed in several publications. He is known best for his literary work. He was a winner of the Padma Vibhushan and Sahitya Akademi Fellowship and a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, until he returned it in protest against Operation Blue Star. He was loved by his companions like Sadia Delhvi for the pleasure of his company and lively nature, and was respected by his colleagues because of his humble and generous personality.
Illustration: Aakanksha Patil
However, he was also regarded as a controversial figure due to his acerbic sense of humour and political views. His defence of the emergency that was imposed by then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi and his public declaration of admiration for Sanjay Gandhi was not well received.
Singh came from a desert village named Hadali, which now lies in Pakistan. He was born to a highly affluent family; his father was Sobha Singh, who was one of the Indian civil contractors that built Delhi from the ground up. He controlled almost half of the land in Delhi and was nicknamed ‘Adhi Dilli Ka Malik’. Khushwant Singh was unable to discern his true calling in life for the longest time and thus pursued many different career paths as a lawyer, a politician and a diplomat.
Khushwant Singh’s most well-known piece of work is ‘Train To Pakistan’, published in 1956, which is based on the Partition of India. It constitutes post-war and colonial literature and is a work of historical fiction. The story begins in a village called Mano Majra, where there is no hostility between the Muslim and Sikh sects and the people are completely unaware of India’s independence from the British. The story is a whirlwind of conflicting emotions and beliefs and the subsequent harrowing consequences of the dissonance brought forth by the partition. The tiny glimpse it gives into the mortifying events that took place in 1947 pushes the reader to tear away from their negative prejudices, if they have any. It is imperative that we keep history close to our hearts because that is the only way we avoid making the same blunders again, and this novel does an excellent job at waking us up from our ignorant stupor.
Covers: Amazon | Design: ACK Design Team
Khushwant Singh’s book ‘Sunset Club’ gives insight into the loneliness felt by the elderly, while ‘Women and Men in My Life’ beautifully recaptures Singh’s experiences and relations with the people he had fallen out with. ‘A Portrait of a Lady’ is another remarkable book of his, which is a collection of short stories. Singh’s work has inspired many aspiring novelists.
Khushwant Singh’s clarity of thought and the beautiful simplicity of his words make his novels excellent reads. His controversial ideas and beliefs have earned him scorn, however, his opinions cannot tarnish his literary achievements. The legacy that Khushwant Singh has left behind, is a rich one.
In the kingdom of Krishnanagar in Bengal, there once lived a king named Krishna Chandra. Among his courtiers, his favourite was Gopal, the jester. Gopal’s wit would often come to the king’s rescue when he was in sticky situations. The jester’s guidance was quite valuable to the king.
Once, it was the season of Hilsa fish in Krishnanagar, and nobody could stop talking about it. The fishermen only caught Hilsa fish, for the fishmongers wanted nothing else. Why? Because the people would not buy anything other than Hilsa these days. The Hilsa fever spared no one, it gripped everyone in Krishnanagar right from the householder to the courtiers!
For a few days, the king politely indulged all the talk about the fish but sometimes, it was intolerable.
“Have you been to the market yet? I heard the price of Hilsa is down today,” said a courtier.
“I did! You wouldn’t believe how much I got it for,” the other one replied.
“Really?”
A third courtier chimed in. “He’s right. I was there early, got the biggest one.” Then, turning to the king, he said, “Your Majesty, you should have seen the Hilsa I bought. It was this big!” while gesturing with his hands.
The king could not stand this obsession anymore.
“Enough! Not another word about Hilsa. What are you, courtiers or fishermen?” he angrily roared.
The court fell silent. They had no intention of angering the king, they were just discussing something that was the talk of the town. Realising that his frustration got the best of him, the king calmed down.
“I’m sorry. I lost my temper. It’s just that ever since the Hilsa season has begun, no one has talked about anything else. Nobody can stop anyone from talking about Hilsa. I don’t think even Gopal could do it!” he said.
Gopal saw a challenge.
Illustration: Souren Roy | Script: Urmila Sinha
“Oh, I think I could, Your Majesty,” Gopal said with a mischievous smile.
The king huffed. “If that is so, then let me see you buy a huge Hilsa and bring it to the palace without a single soul asking you about it.”
Gopal accepted the king’s challenge and began to plan his victory.
A few days later, Gopal’s wife walked into an interesting scene. Gopal’s usually clean-shaven face was only shaved on one side. He was busy smearing ash on his scalp and cheeks when she let her curiosity get the better of her.
“Why are you only half-shaven? Why are you smearing ash on your face? What’s the matter with you?” she questioned.
“Didn’t I tell you? I’m dressing up to buy Hilsa,” he casually replied.
Then, he proceeded to pull out his oldest, most torn pair of kurta pyjamas. His wife was horrified.
“You can’t possibly go out in those disgraceful rags! What are you up to?” she asked.
In reply, Gopal calmly repeated that he was going to buy Hilsa. Seeing him walk away so coolly, his wife worried that he was going mad!
When Gopal reached the market to buy fish, all eyes were on him but not a single one dared to speak to him. Not even the fishmonger that sold him the Hilsa said a word, handing the fish over while quietly gaping at him. Fish in hand, he began walking towards the palace. On the way, he heard many whispers.
Illustration: Souren Roy | Script: Urmila Sinha
“Look at that man! Isn’t he funny-looking?”
“He must be a madman. Poor chap.”
“I think he is a mystic!”
Gopal smiled inwardly at all this attention.
When he reached the palace gates, the guards frowned at him.
“What do you want?”
“I want to see the king.”
The guards were annoyed. “You can’t see the king. Get away from here!”
At this, Gopal began to sing and dance loudly at the gates, creating a ruckus. Even the courtiers began to notice and talk about the crazy man demanding to see the king.
Illustration: Souren Roy | Script: Urmila Sinha
The king, too, heard the commotion and summoned a guard to bring him in. When he appeared, the king and the courtiers were astonished.
“It’s Gopal!”
“Has he gone crazy?”
“I think it is one of his jokes.”
The king waved at his courtiers to silence them.
“All right, all right. Out with it, Gopal. Why are you dressed in this ridiculous fashion?”
“Your Majesty, please look at me carefully!”
“Look at you? Yes, that’s what we are asking about. What’s all this?”
Gopal then dramatically held up the fish he bought.
“Strangely enough, nobody seems to be interested in the Hilsa fish today! I walked past so many people on my way from the market to the palace and now in your court. Yet, not one word about Hilsa was spoken!”
The king then remembered the challenge he’d thrown at Gopal and burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! Congratulations, Gopal. You have achieved the impossible once again!” the king said in his praise.
Read more stories of Gopal in our title Gopal the Jester. Now available on the ACK Comics App, Kindle, Flipkart, and other major e-tailers.
The science fiction genre is evidence of the infinite potential of the human imagination. The unique human ability to weave ideas and stories around things that we have never seen, touched or smelled is reflected in this genre. It is a genre of speculative fiction, containing imagined elements absent from our world, and often encompasses stories that revolve around otherworldly elements such as space and time travel, galactic exploration, extraterrestrial life forms, parallel universes, technological and scientific developments and their subsequent consequences. Thus, science fiction, or sci-fi as it is popularly called, is rightfully cited as the literature of ideas.
While the genre has still not been explored thoroughly in India, we still have many sci-fi gems to offer. Here are some of the most popular Indian science fiction books.
Sultana’s Dream by Begum Rokeya
Sultana’s Dream is about a woman that is transported into Ladyland, where being a woman is to be privileged and free and to be a man is to shut in and shackled. It is a piece of parallel universe science fiction literature, written by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain in 1905. The story follows the protagonist as she wakes up in Ladyland and is slowly introduced to its lore and laws. This story was revolutionary for its time and reveals the logical fallacies in the arguments supporting the way of the patriarchy in a witty and humorous manner. It peels back the patriarchy’s veneer of disliking anything ‘frivolous’, that only barely hides its actual disdain for everything ‘feminine’. Rokeya explores the condition of Indian womanhood by juxtaposing it with the liberated life the women of Ladyland live. Sultana’s Dream may justly be considered regressive by today’s standards of feminism, however, it is important we acknowledge that it was conceived during a time when feminism was in its beginning stages and women weren’t given even a fraction of the rights as they are today.
Covers: Amazon | Design: ACK Design Team
The Calcutta Chromosome by Amitav Ghosh
The Calcutta Chromosome is a medical science fiction thriller written by Amitav Ghosh, in 1995 and received the Arthur C. Clarke award. Ghosh brilliantly braids the characters within each other’s lives as we follow each of them through a mix of different timelines, making the plot incredibly complex and intricate. We, as readers, follow the enigmatic L. Murugan on his search for the ‘Calcutta Chromosome’. His deep fascination with the Nobel Prize–winning scientist, Ronald Ross, who found out that malaria is spread through mosquitoes allows him to unearth an underground movement that has the potential to grant eternal life. The Calcutta Chromosome’s various twists and turns ensure a captivating and thrilling reading experience.
The Simoqin Prophecies by Samit Basu
The Simoqin Prophecies is the first novel in the GameWorld trilogy, it is followed by The Manticore’s Secret and The Unwaba Revelations. The story revolves around the realization of two prophecies, the first one foretelling the rise of great rakshas ‘Dahn Gem’ and the subsequent prophecy that comes as a beacon of hope that reveals a hero would arise to defeat Dahn Gem. The story follows the hero as he is faced with a moral dilemma, where he must commit terrible acts in order to save the world from the rakshas.
It is written by Samit Basu and was published in 2004. It is a kaleidoscopic mix of eastern and western mythical elements beautifully blended to create an enthralling universe that enchants the readers and makes them invested in the series.
Oftentimes, the genre is reduced to a means for escapism rather than being the effective social tool it has proven to be over the years. Pioneering authors of this genre have used it as protest literature, usually in the form of dystopian world stories. These stories highlight the pressing issues of our time that are slowly turning into the norm and turn our attention to the problems we have the privilege to divert our gaze from in order to retain our comfort. Science Fiction or Sci-Fi, through the efforts of authors like Begum Rokeya, Amitav Ghosh and Samit Basu, continue to inspire our ‘sense of wonder’ and provide us with much-needed glimpses into dystopian futures that could become reality.
In the village of Tenali, there lived a very poor yet carefree boy named Ramalingam or Raman. Though his father was dead, he hardly helped his mother in any way.
One day a wandering sadhu (ascetic) saw him wasting his time and chided him. The naughty Raman had no intention of arguing with the holy man as he wanted to continue his siesta. So he told the sage that he wanted to work but unfortunately, he was stricken by a deadly disease.
The sadhu believed the lie and felt sorry for the boy who otherwise looked cheerful and bright. He taught him a mantra (chant) and its practice to appease the Goddess Kali. He thought the boy would ask her for good health. Blessed with a razor-sharp intellect, Raman easily learnt the mantra but he was already in the best of health. So, he decided that he would use it to ask for food.
That night, Raman chanted the mantra a hundred thousand times and the Goddess Kali appeared before him. She was magnificent with huge expressive eyes, a dark complexion, a thousand heads and two hands raised in blessing. However, instead of asking her for anything at all, Raman burst out laughing. The Goddess was not amused and demanded to know the reason for his mirth. Raman told her that with two hands he found it hard to manage one running nose; he was wondering how she would manage her thousand noses if she ever had a cold! The Goddess could not help but smile at his childlike innocence and imagination.
She addressed him as a ‘vikat kavi’ (a jesting poet) and blessed him with the power to be able to make people laugh. Now, anyone standing in the grace of the goddess would be overcome with emotion but not our Tenali. He bantered with her further: while this boon would make others happy, how would it help him, he asked her. She liked his fearless confidence and decided to offer him one of her most coveted boons.
Lo and behold! A golden cup with the milk of learning and another one studded with diamonds and full of the sour curd of wealth appeared in the goddess’s hands. She asked Raman to choose one. Raman of course wanted both and immediately devised a plan.
Scratching his head and wrinkling his forehead, Raman said that he had no idea what was the flavour of either wealth or learning. After all, he was but a poor lad from a small village. Could he not be allowed to taste both and then make an informed choice? The goddess thought that was quite a fair request and held out both the cups in front of him. Quick as a flash, Raman gulped down both the milk and the curd.
The cups were empty and the Goddess was furious. But Raman had prostrated himself before her. He closed his eyes and praised her with songs in childlike innocence. In any case, he reasoned, one would not be useful without the other.
Goddess Kali relented and smiled yet again. She granted him both the boons but cautioned him that they would earn him many enemies. With that, she vanished.
Quite pleased with this turn of events, Raman went back home. With wealth and knowledge to call his own, Raman of Tenali eventually entered the court of King Krishnadevaraya of the famed Vijayanagara Empire, but that is another story!
Read the full story of Tenali in our title Raman of Tenali, available on the ACK Comics app, Kindle, Amazon, Flipkart, and other major e-tailers.
Stories like that of Feluda, Byomkesh Bakshi, Kakababu and Gogol, satiate our innate curiosity and thrill-seeking nature. Following the mystery closely as it unravels page by page, the gnawing apprehension that grows with each chapter, expecting a certain resolution only for it to be turned on its head and the attachments we form with the Sherlocks and Watsons of these stories. This exhilaration is a feeling unique to the established genre and is the everlasting allure of detective stories.
Celebrated writer and filmmaker, Satyajit Ray’s genius truly shines through in Feluda. His clear cut writing style allows for easy digestion of the story thus, clearly communicating the story to the readers and making it more effective. There’s a subtle charm in his writing style that twinkles through how he portrays the thoughts of the characters within the story and the short and concise details that are scattered throughout his writing. Satyajit Ray was a crime fiction enthusiast and his story, Feluda, was inspired by that of Sherlock Holmes.
The story follows the Bengali private detective, Feluda and his gripping adventures as a detective. Feluda’s sharp observations, humorous quips and complexities immediately captivate the reader and keep them hooked to the story. Slowly, you find yourself becoming invested in the story and the various intriguing characters like Topshe, Jatayu, Sidhu Jetha and many more.
In 1932, Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay created one of the most beloved and enduring pieces of Bengali fiction. Several generations have closely followed and continue to follow the story of Byomkesh Bakshi, the truth seeker.
Illustration: Ritika Dureja
Set in Calcutta under the rule of the Raj, the story follows the razor-sharp detective, Byomkesh Bakshi accompanied by his chronicler friend Ajit and the menagerie of mysteries they take upon themselves to untangle. From investigating the disappearance of a priceless necklace in The Jewel Case to discerning the pattern behind the bizarre roadside murders in the Gramophone Pin Mystery, the character of Byomkesh Bakshi completely enthrals us.
Sunil Gangopadhyay’s Kakababu follows the story of Raja Roy Chowdhury and his sleuthing. Sunil Gangopadhyay has managed to skillfully flesh out the character of Raja Roy, also known as Kakababu. Despite losing his leg while trying to save his friend, Kamal and often finding himself in dangerous situations as a detective, Kakababu’s will to continue with his adventures never wavers. A trustworthy and intelligent character, his expertise is sought after by the Indian Intelligence. Kakababu’s perseverance and resourcefulness, despite losing his leg, demonstrates his mental fortitude and helps propagate the idea that we as individuals are not limited or defined by our disabilities but are the sum total of so much more.
Gogol’s name, given to him by his father, is one that was born out of love for the prolific writer Nikolai Gogol. The story follows the child prodigy Gogol and his many sleuthing escapades, an absolute hit with child readers. Samaresh Basu has managed to craft one of the most lovable characters in the world of detectives through the inquisitive and childlike Gogol. He managed to perfect the balance between Gogol’s relatability as a child and his extraordinary life due to his prodigious nature in order to ensure that his children reading his stories don’t feel alienated or intimidated by the young detective. Gogol’s story appeals to the uncomplicated world of children and continues to entertain and amuse generations of adolescents.
Crime fiction isn’t restricted to old brooding men with conservative personalities, but is an imaginative genre that houses some of the most popular and multifaceted characters in the world of fiction. From the adult world of consequences of Byomkesh Bakshi to the uncomplicated and safe world of Gogol, the genre of crime fiction continues to expand and become more versatile. In our dogged pursuit of deadlines, our minds can no longer afford to complete puzzles and our growing tendency to avoid mental labour at every turn, has stunted our curiosity and drive to understand and learn. The crime fiction genre requires and encourages the reader to pay more attention to the little details, to linger on those unfinished ideas and piece together conclusions born of mental labour. The crime genre has and continues to give us enthralling stories and characters to grow up with and to pass on to the coming generations.
Once there lived an old man who was poor but generous. He lived in a small hut with his cat and dog. One night, a weary traveller knocked at his door, asking for some food. The old man didn’t have much but he gave away whatever food he had, including the dry chapatis kept for the dog and the cat, to the stranger. The stranger ate every last morsel, and then asked if he could rest there for the night. The old man offered his bed to the traveller and slept on the floor with his hungry companions.
Refreshed by the night’s meal and rest, the grateful traveller left the old man a parting gift – a conch.
“Drop the conch into your pot the next time you cook rice,” he explained.
Though confused, the old man did not question it. The cat, on the other hand, was annoyed.
“What’s the use of a conch? Now if it had been money, our master could have fed us. We haven’t eaten since yesterday!” he grumbled.
That afternoon, the old man decided to test the stranger’s gift. As soon as he did, a delicious aroma rose from the pot of rice! The scent wafted far and wide, attracting many people. When they asked to have some, the old man could not deny them. However, a massive number of people had lined up.
Illustration: Ram Waeerkar | Script: Luis Fernandes
“I can only give each of them a few grains, or the pot will be empty before I know it!”
Thinking so, the old man began serving a small morsel each. The hungry cat was irked by his master’s kindness.
“Well, looks like we will be going hungry again,” he said to the dog.
Even if he was hungry himself, the dog didn’t say a thing. He liked that his master was a kind man.
Illustration: Ram Waeerkar | Script: Luis Fernandes
When the old man had finished serving all of them, he noticed that the pot was far from empty! So he offered all of them second helpings. Still, the pot was quite full. Once his guests had had their fill, he fed his companions.
“Here you go, I’m sorry you had to starve last night. Now that we have this conch, it will never happen again!”
The cat’s ears perked up at that.
“You hear that, dog, never again!” he rejoiced.
Every day, the old man cooked his “special” rice and people flocked to his hut for a share. Soon, there were so many that he started to charge them a small price for the rice, which the people were happy to pay. The cat and dog too had become fat with all the food they were eating, without doing any work.
Days and weeks passed this way. One morning, the old man’s first customers were some travellers. They bought a lot of rice from him and packed it to take it with them for the journey. Later, as he served more customers, he noticed that the rice was depleting! He ladled out more rice to see if his eyes were being deceived but the rice was indeed decreasing. Panicked, he began looking for the conch in the pot. It was nowhere to be found.
“Oh no! I must have given it to the travellers!” he thought.
Illustration: Ram Waeerkar | Script: Luis Fernandes
He rushed out, hoping that they hadn’t gone too far. The cat and dog looked on, wondering what was wrong. Seeing his master so worried, the dog chased behind him. Upon seeing the dog, the master directed him to find the travellers. They searched the whole village but there seemed to be no trace of them.
“Our good days are over. I’ll never see that conch again,” the old man lamented.
When they returned home empty-handed, the cat demanded to know what happened.
“The conch is lost. Master thinks it went with the travellers’ food,” he said.
The cat was aghast at the thought of starving again. The villagers, too, wondered why the old man had stopped cooking his delicious rice. Some of them went to enquire about it. When they heard the old man mumble about a lost conch in response, they worried that he was going mad. Soon, the news of his madness spread and everyone that once flocked there began to avoid his hut.
In the beginning, the old man had enough money from the business to feed himself and his companions. As the money ran short, he began serving less food. The cat was grumpy again.
“See how little we got today. Tomorrow, it will be lesser.”
The dog was annoyed by the cat’s tirade.
“It’s no use complaining. He feeds us before he feeds himself, it’s time we did something to help our master.”
“Well, what do you suggest?” the cat asked.
“We could look for the conch. If we find it, all our problems will be solved!”
“The conch?! Who knows where it is? That is so much work,” the cat whined.
“Do you have a better idea? If not, we are going to go with this plan,” the dog said finally.
Having no other choice, the cat unhappily complied.
Together, they reached the river across which they suspected the travellers had gone. The cat couldn’t swim, so he climbed onto the dog’s back and they crossed the river and went on to sniff every house in the village until they were met with the aroma of the special rice from a house. They entered the house and followed the scent, which led them to a locked trunk.
“Well, we can’t break into that, can we?” asked the cat.
“Well, it depends,” the dog said. “Can you catch a mouse?”
The cat took up this challenge. As soon as he spotted a rat, he pounced on it and clutched it in his paw. “Please spare me!” the rat begged. “We will let you go if you do as told,” said the dog. The dog then asked the rat to gnaw at the trunk and bring the conch out to them. As soon as the rat pushed out the conch, the owner of the house stepped in. He was about to chase the animals away when he noticed that the dog had the conch in his mouth!
Illustration: Ram Waeerkar | Script: Luis Fernandes
“Hey, you pests! Drop that conch right away!” he yelled after them.
When the villagers heard the ruckus and came out, he told them to follow them too.
“Those two entered my house and took my conch! Catch them!”
The villagers chased after them but the duo dodged them and reached the river.
To cross the river, the dog asked the cat to hold the conch in his mouth and climb onto the dog’s back. As they began swimming, some villagers nearby looked at them and started laughing. Hearing them laugh, the cat laughed along with his mouth wide open. The conch fell into the river. “Oh, stupid cat!” the dog said, as he dived in to find the conch. The cat, not expecting the fall, almost drowned, for he could not swim. Somehow, he beat his legs wildly and reached the other side. He decided that he would not go home, for the dog would blame him for the conch. Thinking so, he climbed into a tree and hid in a hollow.
Meanwhile, the dog was unable to find the conch. Dejected, he swam ashore and returned home. Seeing the dog alone, the old man thought that the cat had found a new home, one that could feed him.
Several days passed. The man and the dog hadn’t eaten anything. Desperate, the dog decided to go to the river and see if he could get a fish from a fisherman. The fisherman had had a good day, so he threw a big fish to the dog to take home to his master. The pleased dog took it back to the master. The old man was delighted with the catch and decided to cook the fish. As he cleaned the fish, he felt something firm inside. When he cut it open, it was the lost conch! Overjoyed, he hugged his dog and told him that the conch had returned. The dog felt proud of himself.
Illustration: Ram Waeerkar | Script: Luis Fernandes
The next day, the scent of the rice wafted through the village again. As usual, people flocked to the man’s hut to buy rice. The cat, too, smelled the familiar aroma. He sneaked back into the house, purring at his master’s feet.
“Oh, it’s you. Welcome home,” the master remarked, serving him a ladle of rice.
The dog looked at the cat questioningly.
Feeling his eyes, the cat said, “I felt so homesick, I just had to come home.”
The dog huffed, knowing the truth. “Don’t lie to me, cat, I know you smelled the rice.”
The cat, the dog and their kind master lived happily ever after, never losing the magic conch again.
Read more folktales of India in our title Legend and Lore, available on the ACK Comics App, Kindle, Amazon, Flipkart, and other major e-tailers.
A familiar definition of theatre is that it is a deliberate performance created by live actors and intended for a live audience, typically making use of scripted language. It initially began around the 15th century BCE, as a way to aid ritualistic practices. Evidence of this is present in Vedic texts, as dramas were enacted during Yajna ceremonies. However, the origins of Indian Theatre, to date, are the subject of dispute and debate. Though, it is widely believed that the art form finds its origins in Sanskrit drama and the works of Bhasa, Kalidasa, Shudraka, Vishakhadatta, Bhavabhutti and Harsha. Sanskrit drama’s golden period began in the 2nd century BCE and its end in the 10th century CE was marked by several foreign invasions and rulers that banned this art form, thus causing its decline. The essence of Sanskrit theatre, however, continued to live on in the southern part of India, especially in the form of Koodiyattam.
Following the decline of Sanskrit theatre, folk theatre emerged in the 15th century AD. We had the Jatra in Bengal and Orissa, Bhavai in Gujarat, Nautanki in Uttar Pradesh, Tamasha in Maharashtra, Ankiya Naat in Assam and Yakshagana in Karnataka.
Radical changes in Indian theatre took place in the 17th century AD with the arrival of Britishers in India. The East India Company’s presence in Calcutta had a dramatic effect on Indian theatre and plays. They brought with them their own dramas and introduced ways through which theatre’s production value could be dramatically increased, such as the use of intricate sets and special costumes. Theatre groups took to adapting the works of Shakespeare, Brecht and Lessing for the entertainment of the growing urban and working classes. The effects of industrialization brought about a rise in urban entertainment and people flocked from all over to view these performances in Calcutta. This allowed for the Parsi theatre, a term used to describe an influential theatre tradition presented by Parsis, to flourish during this time. It employed captivating music, dance and drama in a very theatrical manner, making the viewing experience a very enriching one. A new method of performing plays surfaced in Maharashtra. Kathakars and kirtankars began singing certain parts of the story and dialogue in an attempt to enhance the performance and succeeded greatly. Annasaheb Kirloskar was a pioneer of this field, being the first musical dramatist. This era of musicals in Maharashtra was known as the Gandharva period.
Illustration: Mehar Dhillon
Indian theatre slowly started to branch out to involve literary drama, as the demand for it began to increase. Playwrights like Rabindranath Tagore helped in the advancement of literary drama greatly. Tagore masterfully melded Eastern and Western story elements in his work in order to create compelling and genius plays. His play Chitrangada was so successful that it was performed internationally.
With the arrival of the talkies era in Hindi cinema in the 1930s, the theatre was pushed into the background. It was in the 1950s, post-independence, when its popularity was restored through the efforts of many experimental and mainstream theatre artists and the Indian People’s Theatre Association.
In Bengal and parts of Kerala, the leftist movement was taking place and thus, the theatre was transformed into a political tool. Utpal Dutt, a pioneering figure in Modern Indian Theatre, enacted many plays such as Kallol, Manushar Adhikar, Tiner Talwar, Louha Manob and Maha-Bidroha which were soaked in Marxism.
In 1962, Ebrahim Alkazi took over The National School of Drama as its director. Alkazi recognized the responsibility the director and actors involved in theatre shouldered as the interpreters of their time and how it was imperative that they brought insight and awareness to the text, in order to make it relevant to a contemporary audience. He implemented a systematic and practical manner in which the persons involved in the theatre were to conduct their practice. This helped improve the overall structure of the play and made the communication of the story much more effective and meaningful. While the National School of Drama was undergoing a dramatic shift under the direction of Alkazi, an unprecedented exchange of regional dramas was taking place throughout the country. Figures like Vijay Tendulkar and Mohan Rakesh contributed heavily to this exchange. The regional theatre was no longer limited to its area of origin and the gaps between separate regions, in the context of plays, was beginning to be bridged. Young directors and actors of this time like Vijaya Mehta began to rise in popularity during this period. Vijaya Mehta’s plays managed to skillfully and beautifully portray the complexities and subtleties of human nature and the connections we make with each other.
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was a patron of the arts and contributed heavily towards its development and enrichment. He established national art academies all over the country, that were geared towards refining, nurturing and preserving the arts. Institutions such as the Sangeet Natak Akademi provided many successful theatre artists with the space to refine their skills and add to the theatre scene of India.
Television has always challenged the survival of live theatre. Indian dramatist Badal Sircar propagated the idea of a flexible, portable and inexpensive theatre, which allowed for freedom from costly paraphernalia such as the sound equipment, auditorium and so on. Sircar’s practice of this idea for 15 years proved that voluntary donation provided by even the poorest community sufficed. He stated that not only did his theatre survive but it thrived.
Indian theatre has transformed from being restricted to ritualistic practices that took place only in palaces to a versatile and mammoth art form that has influenced masses over the ages and is performed in the biggest live theatres and on the simplest of streets. Indian Theatre has existed from the first millennium BCE, constantly evolving and progressing. As long as the human race exists, this cherished art form will continue to thrive.
