MUMBAI: Education and entertainment company for kids, ACK Media, has launched an Amar Chitra Katha title on its creator Anant Pai.

Named ?Anant Pai ? the master storyteller?, the Amar Chitra Katha title on Uncle Pai is available in all book stores and stands since the third week of February at Rs 50. It is also be available on the Apple App store.

Fondly known as Uncle Pai, he had also created Tinkle. He passed away in February last year.

Marking the occasion of his first death anniversary, the biography of Pai was launched during Comic con on 18 February by his wife Lalita Pai. A short film titled ? Tribute to Uncle Pai was also aired during comic-con.

Amar Chitra Katha editor Reena Puri said, ?This is a tribute to the man who created Amar Chitra Katha. It is an acknowledgement of the revolution he brought, not just by creating comics based on Indian stories but also by bringing into the limelight stories of our country which needed to be shared and told. It is a tribute from all of us who have worked with him and learned from him.?

Known as the Walt Disney of India, Pai told stories from mythology, history and literature using the comic book format. A chemical engineer by profession, he gave up his job to follow his dream that led to the creation of Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle. The title traces the story of the man who left behind a legacy of learning and laughter. This is his life story from his childhood days in a village in Karnataka, through his education and then the pursuit of his dream till he succeeded.

?The Anant Pai title is an inspirational story which seeks to provide a role model for children. It is a typical Amar Chitra Katha, the only difference is that it is about a man who still reaches out and touches the hearts of millions of Indian children. It was very difficult to decide what we should finally put into the script of the book as there was lot of information available. What guided us were Mr Pai?s own words, ?See if the story will be of interest to children. See if there is something in it for children to take away. Then tell it.? We feel that there is a lot for a reader to take away from the story of this wonderful man ? be it a child or a grown-up,? Puri added.

Researched and scripted by Gayathri Chandrasekaran, the title is a 32-page comics biography and took 11 months to compile.

?A lot of people who worked with Mr Pai had to be met and extensive interviews conducted with his wife, Mrs Lalita Pai, his sister and other relatives. Mr Subba Rao, who was one of the first associate editors of ACK gave us very valuable inputs and helped us refine the script,? Gayathri Chandrasekaran said.

Cheetahs and Pune Strykers in World Series Hockey. The team will be spearheaded by ace striker Lucas Vila as captain and one of the world?s best coaches - Roelant Oltmans.

Communication and entertainment company Wizcraft International has acquired the Delhi franchise of World Series Hockey. Wizcraft has been instrumental in shaping the event management and brand activation industry in India.

Wizcraft International director Sabbas Joseph said, "We have always been associated with marquee sports events like the ICC World Cup 2011, Indian Premier League and the Commonwealth Games. We see tremendous opportunity in sports in terms of a business and more importantly in building a loyal fan base. This is an important step that will further expand the canvas for Wizcraft and help build a strong following for our national game. The only way for the national sport is up. Nimbus has brought a lot of passion, dedication to the event. The touch and feel of this event has been professional which is what it should be."

Nimbus Sport COO Yannick Colaco added, "We are delighted to welcome one of India?s biggest entertainment companies - Wizcraft International to the WSH family. We see tremendous opportunity in marrying sports and entertainment and with the extensive global experience that Wizcraft possess; they make a fantastic partner for WSH."

He acknowledges that it took longer than anticipated to sign up the franchises. "We have been in talks with them for a long time. There were details that had to be worked upon. 15 years is a long term commitment and we wanted to make sure that all the bases were covered."

More franchise owners will be announced in the coming days. Apart from Delhi Wizards, Karnataka Lions, Chennai Cheetahs and Pune Strykers the other city based franchises are located in Bhopal, Chandigarh, Punjab and Mumbai. Hyderabad will be added next year added Colaco.

He has also clarified that Pakistani players will take part in WSH. They have got the necessary clearances from their government. Meanwhile the players draft for WSH took place today. Bhopal which is being captained by Sardar Singh has in its lineup the likes of Waseem Ahmed, Baljeet Singh, Casey Henwood and Baljinder Singh. Chandigarh will be captained by Rehan Butt and has got the likes of PR Sreejesh, Bharat Chikara and Ajitesh Roy. Chennai is being captained by Brent Livermore. It has in its team the likes of Bharat chetri, Amit prabhakar, Peter Kelly and Dhananjay Mahadik.

Delhi is being captained by Lucas Vila and has drafted the likes of Manoj Antil, Vickram Kanth, Manjeet Kulu and Shakeel Anbbasi. Karnataka is being captained by Arjun Halappa and has a high profile draft in Dhanraj Pillai. Mumbai is being captained by Adrian DeSouza. It has drafted Viren rasquinha, SV Sunil, Yuvraj Walmiki among others. Pune which is being captained by rodrigo Garcia has drafted among others Vikas Pillay, Diwakar Ram and Gurpreet Singh Guri. Punjab is being cptained by Prabhjot Singh and has drafted the likes of VS Vinaye, Dinesh Ekka, Mark Gunther and Steven Faiij.

The WSH will be held from 17 December, 2011 to 22 January, 2012 and will involve 200 players -- Indian and international -- who will showcase their talent in 61 matches. It will be a multi-city franchise-based League with players being allocated to the teams based on the internationally accepted and practiced ?draft? system.

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BANGALORE: Deccan Herald, the English language daily published by the Printers (Mysore) Private Limited, is all set to enter the Delhi market by the end of the year.

The Printers (Mysore) Private Limited was the first Indian publication group to introduce colour in the main issue of the Deccan Herald and Prajavani.

As per the recent IRS data, Deccan Herald has an average issue readership of 423,000 in Karnataka and is the second most popular English daily in the state after The Times of India. The newspaper has seen a growth of 37.79 per cent in its AIR (Average Issue Readership), as compared to last year. The ABC certified figures for the first half of 2009 put the daily paid circulation (number of bought copies as opposed to number of copies read) at 214,797.

The Deccan Herald, headquartered in Bangalore, was started in 1948. Its sister publications are the Prajavani daily newspaper, the weekly magazine Sudha, and the monthly magazine Mayura, all of which are published in Kannada. 

Besides Bangalore, zoned editions of Deccan Herald are published from Hubli (edited at Bangalore); Hyderabad to cater to the Karnataka-Hyderabad region; and the Managalore edition which is printed at plants at Mangalore, Belur and Gulburga for the coastal regions of the state.