The Telegraph out of Calcutta, India has a “then and now” article on how things have changed for kids in India over the last 20 years, covering everything from candy to TV to comics:

Then: Comics, from Amar Chitra Katha to Phantom, Tinkle to Archie, Champak to Chandamama, were what children in the 1980s and even the 1990s fed on. The characters in these became a part of their lives and imagination and the latest edition was looked forward to with as much eagerness as a visit to the mamabari was. Many had such huge, treasured collections that those had to be bound in volumes. Chacha Chaudhury, Hada Bhoda, Nonte Fonte, Bantul the Great ruled. Even a comic book version of Amitabh Bachchan — called Supremo —was lapped up.

Now: Comics don’t find favour with today’s kids, though Tintin and Asterix do have a following. But the practice of reading comic books has largely disappeared. If kids are crazy about Superman, Spiderman or Batman, it’s through the movies.

“My 11-year-old nephew is completely hung up on Harry Potter although I can’t really understand what the Potter craze is about. I still have many of my old comic books stashed away in an old cupboard and I return to them every now and then,” smiles IT professional Surbhi Sengupta.

Sadly, many American kids know Spider-Man, etc. just through the movies and TV as well.

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