Immortal Picture Stories

     Amar Chitra Katha, or ACK for short, is a series of comic books that are extremely popular in India.  Printed in color, and mainly English at first, they tell stories of mythological figures and historical figures.  I found it really interesting the ways in which they told the stories.  The main problem I had with them is that all Muslim rulers were cast as villains, even Shah Jahan was cast differently than Hindu rulers.  Shah Jahan was depicted as old, feeble, and not much of a warrior, even though he had been earlier in life.  The cover of his issue shows him staring out of his cell at the monument he had made for his wife, the Taj Mahal.  Honestly, I didn't know that the Taj Mahal was built by a Muslim ruler.
     The fact that these comics became the authoritative way for Indians to learn the "root to their roots," kind of bothers me.  The issue is that these comic books are being read by children, who have yet to develop critical thinking skills and thus assume these to be true representations of history.  However, not all Indians truly see these as definitive sources of cultural identity.  A friend of mine, who grew up in the state of Kerala, enjoyed them when he was younger, but now sees them just as Chitra Katha's, or "Picture Stories."  However, many still believe that the stories depicted in ACK are in fact the true story, unclouded by any particular political agenda.
     Growing up in the Christian community, the Bible stories that I grew up learning were meant to be accepted as literally true.  The problem with a complete literal interpretation is that sometimes what occurs in both stories from the Christian and Hindu mythologies is that there are events that seem to defy natural laws.  How does one illustrate/explain something that is literally impossible such as Krishna lifting a mountain with one finger or the world being created in seven literal days?  With an increasing emphasis on science and technology, scientifically, these two events are impossible.
     Today so many people argue over literal and figurative interpretations.  In the end I think everyone must make a choice.  For Indians: Will you believe that Krishna really lifted that mountain with one finger or was it that he was credited with helping people to find respite from Indra? For Christians: Did God really create the universe in 7 literal days or was he using the number 7, which was considered the divine number, to establish his divinity?