Fifty three years ago, Anant Pai, a junior executive in a major newspaper in India, watched Indian children on a TV quiz show fail to answer a basic question about the Hindu epic Ramayana. He was concerned that young people in his country had lost touch with their cultural heritage. Pai decided to do something about it.
He eventually teamed up with the publisher India Book House to launch an educational comic series that presented kid-friendly Indian religious and historical stories. The comics, titled Amar Chitra Katha (ACK), slowly became a massive hit.
ACK was a household name in India by the late 1970s. Now the series has sold more than 100 million copies of 400 and more comics in 20 languages, primarily English and Hindi.
Now Amar Chitra Katha is joining with travel services firm Thomas Cook India along with group firm SOTC Travel to come up with a project aiming to bring alive India’s heritage with the launch of ‘Great Indian Journeys’.
#ThomasCookIndia & @ACKComics present Great Indian Journeys. Recreated to relive the stories, Puranas & the rich history of India through unique experiences. Set out on a holiday with your family on a short trip to explore our #IncredibleIndiahttps://t.co/s4fmoUIY7Q
*T&C apply pic.twitter.com/CkwU03uECz— Thomas Cook India (@tcookin) September 17, 2020
The interesting factor is the itineraries will be created in an engaging format so that young explorers and parents discover India’s rich heritage and iconic attractions.
The Great Indian Journeys provides a four-five day itinerary through historic locales likes Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Udaipur, Mathura, Hampi, Delhi, Agra.
SOTC & Amar Chitra Katha present Great Indian Journeys. Relive the rich history of India through unique experiences.
Explore here: https://t.co/KaMD133yXy*T&C apply. #SOTC #SOTCTravel #ACK #AmarChitraKatha #GreatIndianJourneys
@madhavnmenon55 @ACKComics
1/2 pic.twitter.com/R8BkCCyPzQ— SOTC Travel (@SOTCTravel) September 17, 2020
Each itinerary incorporates exclusive elements such as personalised storytelling sessions around favourite historical characters, spectacular sound and light shows, local culinary experiences among others
