The infant heir son of the chieftain of Fort Ajinkya, escapes a political blood-bath which claims the lives of his parents. Whisked away by a quick-thinking nurse, he is raised by another local chieftain who is not aware of his identity. The child is named Veer Dhaval. Veer Dhaval's life takes a twist when he falls in love with his benefactor's daughter. But the other suitor for her hand is the wicked Chanda Varma, the murderer of his parents. This Amar Chitra Katha has been adapted from Nath Madhav's (1882-1928) famous Marathi novel, Veer Dhaval.

Anant Pai strode the Indian comics industry like a colossus. Using the comics format he told stories from mythology, history and literature to generations of children. Uncle Pai, as he was known, wanted Indian children to be familiar with their heritage. He believed that it helped build self-esteem and confidence. He also wanted to bring the children of this country together through stories. A chemical engineer by profession, Anant Pai gave up his job to follow his dream, a dream that led to the creation of Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle. Amar Chitra Katha pays tribute to its creator and traces the story of the man who left behind a legacy of learning and laughter.

Kalidas owes his fame to his Sanksrit play Abhijnana-Shakuntala (Shakuntala Recognised by the Token Ring), the long epic poem Kumara-Sambhava (Birth of Kumara) and the lyric poem Meghaduta (Cloud Messenger). Kalidasa, who lived some time in the middle of the 4th and early 5th centuries A.D., has left no account of his life. According to popular legend, he owed his ingenuity as much to Goddess Kali’s blessings as to his own talents.

He was from a respectable family, well-educated and a lawyer, yet many Indians thought of him as ‘untouchable’. It was up to BR Ambedkar to teach his ‘depressed’ community to fight the injustices that it faced each day. Hard working and wise, he became the icon of the underprivileged. History, however, will remember him as the architect of India’s Constitution.

Madhvacharya (C. 1238–1317) propagated the Bhakti Marg or the path of devotion for the realisation of God. He felt that there was no need to deny the world in order to realise the Divine. Relying on logic, and quoting profusely from the scriptures, he made a strong case for theism. His school of thought is known as dvaita which stands for two realities – independent and dependent. The infinitely perfect God is independent and the world of matter and spirits is dependent on God. He advocated total surrender to God to achieve salvation.

The day was April 13, 1919. It was the festival of Baisakhi, new year's day in the Punjab, when thousands of holidaying villagers mingled with the citizens of Amritsar to listen to their leaders in Amritsar's Jallianwala Bagh. No one even imagined that the garden would turn into a killing field. The British Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, in a bid to teach 'a moral lesson to the Punjab', ordered his soldiers to open fire at the unarmed crowd of men, women and children. It was a turning point in India's struggle for freedom.

The entire Maratha kingdom was shocked when Sambhaji, the son of Shivaji, joined forces with the Mughal army, Shivaji's greatest foe. Sambhaji had a tough childhood. His father was too busy to look after him and his mother died when he was only two. The young Sambhaji's main support came from his grandmother. When she died, he was bereft of love and care. To make matters worse, his step-mother was campaigning to make her own son the next ruler, trying to poison Shivaji's mind against Sambhaji. This Amar Chitra Katha traces the events that led up to the coronation of this wise and just Maratha ruler.

When the child Basava was born he did not cry or open his eyes for days. According to Sage Jataveda, who later became his guru, Basava had been in a yogic trance. Basaveshvara was a unique human being, a reformer way ahead of his times. Eight hundred years ago, at a time when society was ridden with the evils of a rigid caste system, he spoke of equality and believed in the emancipation of women.

Wise Yudhishthira, strong Bheema, skilful Arjuna, brave Nakula and Sahadeva – five exceptionally talented brothers whose youthful exuberance made their Kaurava cousins very jealous. Things only got worse when Duryodhana found that everyone wanted Yudhishthira as king. It was their courage and skill that helped the Pandava princes survive several murderous plots. And as a bonus, they won themselves wonderful wives!