Amar Chitra Katha: How an Indian comic book legacy was lost in a fire

For generations of Indians, the Amar Chitra Katha comic books have been a gateway to stories on religion, mythology and history.

Amar Chitra Katha - which loosely translates as immortal illustrated stories - started publishing in 1967, using engaging visuals and simple language to retell religious parables, scriptures and folk tales in comic form.

Nearly six decades later, the comic remains popular, especially among children.

But much of that illustrated legacy has gone up in smoke. On 1 October, a massive fire broke out at the warehouse of Amar Chitra Katha in Bhiwandi, a suburb of Mumbai, reportedly caused by a short circuit.

It took firefighters four days to control the blaze. By then, the damage was done.