अनंत पै, बेनेट कोलमन आणि महाबली वेताळ...Anant Pai Suggested The Phantom to Bennett, Coleman & Co.

 माझ्या ह्या ब्लॉग वरती महाबली वेताळ असलेल्या दोन चार पोस्ट झाल्या आहेत. 

मी जानेवारी २२ २००८ च्या पोस्ट मध्ये लिहले होते:

"... When I grew up, no one (yes, including Shivaji) captivated me more than Phantom, Mahabali Vetal महाबली वेताळ in Marathi. I read and re-read exploits of Phantom and Mandrake, published as part of Indrajal Comics series by Bennett, Coleman & Co

Those heroes’ families became mine.

Bheem of Mahabharat was strong as Lothar, Mandrake as clever as Shivaji. When Princess Diana died I felt sad because she had the same name of Phantom’s wife!

Kolhapur had many attractions for me. One of them was my cousin’s collection of Phantom and Mandrake books. I knew by heart all those books. They were translated in Marathi with some chutzpah.

I have never understood why Phantom comics books were not published in Marathi later.

I wish I had the help of Phantom to learn Newton’s laws and Diana’s help to understand working of the United Nations!

Marathi newspaper Sakal सकाळ on January 18, 2007 reported: “अल्लाद्दिन, टारझन, मोगली आता मराठीतून 'बोलणार'!” (“Aladdin, Tarzan, Moguli now to ‘speak’ in Marathi”)

Poor Sakal. It doesn’t even mention the rich world of Phantom in Marathi that came to pass...."

Kevin Patrick, ‘The Phantom Unmasked: America’s First Superhero’, 2017: "... Anant Pai (1929 – 2011) was a junior executive in Bennett, Coleman & Co.’s book-publishing division at the time when his supervisor, P. K. Roy, remarked that the company’s printing presses lay idle after orders were met for India’s calendar production season. Roy thought they could be used to print comic books to keep them operating at peak capacity, and initially suggested that Superman would be a suitable title. Pai, however, recommended the company choose The Phantom instead, on the grounds that its “steamy tribal . . . milieu” would be more familiar to Indian audiences... "

 courtesy: copyright holder(s) of the image