Comic creators eye desert winds to set sail

 Content creator KS Manu and animator Deepak Sivarajan were enjoying their evening tea when they came across a piece of pepper-infused cheese that had just hit the market. As they munched on it, discussing its taste, they were struck by the blending of Asia and Europe in that small piece of cheese. Their conversation soon drifted to the history of the spice trade and how deeply intertwined Kerala’s past was with global events.

Few stories from the Middle East and India rival the spice trade in significance, but storytellers from the area have barely tapped into it. Deepak and Manu decided to change this.

Manu, who was associated with popular Manchadi children’s channel and Deepak, a self-taught animator, had been planning to create children’s comics as part of their startup, Pava Creative Studios. But their focus shifted to a comic series based on the spice trade and four months later the comic Battle of the Winds was born.

They had to dig up a lot of material as trade between Arab merchants and the kingdoms in the southwest of what is now India had flourished for centuries before Vasco da Gama landed at Kozhikode in 1498.

Hero Surfaces

They then came across a Middle Eastern hero known in Arab tales as the Lion of the Seas, Ahmad Ibn Majid. He had mastered the knowledge of the desert winds that rose from the Middle East and travelled as monsoons toward South Asia, where spices grew. The acclaimed sailor then went on to create maps of the route to the Indian subcontinent – a knowledge that had, until then, been passed down orally.

His cartography had guided sailors before Gama’s arrival on the scene, but later as Arab spice traders were displaced by Europeans, some Middle East historians branded Ahmad Ibn Majid as a traitor for mapping the sea route and even accused him of personally helping Gama.

However, in his recent book, Sharjah ruler Sheikh Sultan bin Mohamed Al-Qasimi rejects these criticisms. In A Memorandum for Historians on the Innocence of Ibn Majid, he writes that the claims that Ahmad Ibn Majid was bribed by Gama are incorrect. Instead, he says literature from that era shows it was a Christian Gujarati from India, who was in Malindi at the time, who helped Gama.

Such fascinating historical nuggets are abundant in the region, and Manu and Deepak found their project had immense potential, as it linked many ancient kingdoms that flourished and did roaring trade. The duo immersed themselves in the project while continuing their other works for livelihood.

French Heroes

“We are hardcore fans of Asterix and Obelix, written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo. We consider them the ultimate in comics. So, we wanted to create something as a tribute to them, and this project presented the perfect platform,” says Deepak. They set out to make a hardcover comic in the same format, with high-end printing.

“After it was published and when some people told us that The Battle of the Winds reminded them of Asterix comics, we felt happy. Here we are, sitting in another corner of the world, trying to pay our respects to the French maestros, and if this comic reminds readers of them, we are humbled.”

The comic was officially launched at the 2019 Sharjah International Book Fair, where it received a warm welcome. The duo quickly grabbed the attention of readers and publishers alike. Not only did they sell out their comics, but they also secured contracts with some of the region’s well-established publishers and distributors.

But just as old sailors can vouch, unexpected storms can disrupt even the best-laid plans – a reminder that no journey, whether at sea or in life, is ever entirely predictable. The unexpected arrival of Covid pandemic wiped out all their dreams as the world ground to a halt. For Deepak and Manu, it felt like having success snatched from their hands just when everything was falling into place.

“We had spent every last bit of money we could scrape together to print and send copies to several distributors, but it all came to nothing. As the lockdown dragged on for months, we couldn’t even track where our comics had been delivered – we lost it all. It was a total wreck,” says Deepak.

Tale of Centuries

But the duo managed to navigate through choppy waters and push forward. They again have reached out to publishers in the Middle East and remain hopeful of striking a deal soon. If that comes through, the startup plans to launch a series of six comics based on the spice trade history that could eventually provide material for films, TV serials, and animated series.

“There is so much material in those 500 years of history, and every region can have its own hero figures. What is generally known is the European foray into India for spices, but a lot more was happening for decades before that,” says Deepak. However, this potential remains largely unexplored, and most of the talent in India now channel their creativity into developing stories from the West.

Deepak believes that tapping into spice trade history could help build a content economy as big as the Spider-Man or Superman franchises. But for that to happen, he says, there needs to be a collective push from stakeholders – including filmmakers, the merchandise sector, animators, and content creators.

This is still missing in India, despite both the central and state governments announcing plans for an AVGC-XR policy to promote and nurture virtual reality, comics, animation, and extended reality sectors.

Islands in Kerala

Kerala is home to many content creators, animators, and VFX studios, some of which have contributed to major Hollywood projects. However, these firms largely operate in isolation, with no ecosystem in place to bring them together for collaboration and interaction.

Meanwhile, the startup is also developing a book pack initiative to promote gadget-free childhoods by encouraging reading habits in both public and private spaces. They say the idea is to provide an alternative for parents who often resort to handing over their phones to keep children occupied.

Additionally, they are working on a historical comic about how Dutch governor Hendrik van Rheede compiled the Hortus Malabaricus. For this project, they are collaborating with the SciGenom Research Foundation in Thrissur.

The founders of Pava Creative Studios say they have approached the government agencies with their plans but have yet to make any headway or get any financial backing. As a bootstrapped startup, they are now pinning their hopes on the same desert winds that helped Ahmad Ibn Majid to steer them towards their dream journey.

[This story has been updated to avoid duplication that creeped in. We regret the error]

Budgets boost tech sectors

Kerala has placed technology at the centre of its budget for the coming year, rolling out a slew of initiatives. Some key highlights from Finance MinisterKN Balagopal’s budget include funding for Global Capability Centres (GCCs), industrial parks across various districts, and AI hackathons. The folks at Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) must be heaving a sigh of relief – after facing a financial squeeze during Huddle Global 2024, they have now secured funds for organising Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) clusters and expanding Freedom Square, an innovation hub for entrepreneurs, students, and researchers.

Meanwhile, the central government in New Delhi has also prioritised technology in its 2025 budget, with the deeptech sector receiving a 20,000 crore-rupee boost, including a dedicated Fund of Funds for startups. India has been witnessing strong growth in this sector, with over 480 deeptech startups launched in 2023 – a two-fold increase from the previous year. With the budget promising substantial funding, it is hoped that the private sector will take on more R&D projects, which until now, have largely been left to the public sector and educational institutions.

AI agent to find flats

Good startup ideas always excite us, and Singapore’s Mogul.sg has caught our attention. The company has rolled out an AI agent that trawls through different websites to analyse data from 100,000 home listings, helping users find properties that match their preferences. Acting like a human agent, it even contacts property agents via WhatsApp to arrange viewings on behalf of potential buyers, The Straits Times reports. What’s more, it charges just 0.2 percent commission if a sale goes through – far lower than the 1 percent typically demanded now.  The company’s founder, Gerald Sim, believes the real estate sector is on the cusp of a revolution, much like the travel industry’s shift from travel agencies to online bookings. Makes you wonder –why hasn’t a similar platform emerged in Kerala, given the state’s red-hot property market?

Lords of Silicon Valley

It almost reads like a Who’s Who of Indians in Silicon Valley, as tech billionaires joined hands to secure a stake in a cricket franchise based at Lord’s Cricket Ground. The winning bid of925 million poundswas made by Cricket Investor Holdings Limited, led by Nikesh Arora of Palo Alto Networks, edging out the RPSG Group of Sanjiv Goenka. The investor group includes Sundar Pichai of Google, Satya Nadella of Microsoft, and Shantanu Narayen of Adobe. London Spirit’s women’s team has impressed by winning the local tournament, but the men’s team is yet to make a mark. Clearly, team performance wasn’t the driving factor behind the bid – being based at the home of cricket must have been a major draw for these lords of Silicon Valley.

A steaming hot tip for you

AI is coming for your rotis – literally. A new tool developed by IIT Kharagpur product Animesh Chouhan detects the roundness of a roti and provides a percentage accuracy score. Initially launched as a fun project, the social media buzz around it has Animesh looking to turn RotiChecker.ai into a full-fledged business. “RotiChecker.ai. Dough or Die: The Great Gol Roti Challenge. Coming soon,”says the website, with Animesh even joking about applying to Y Combinator. Here’s our tip: create an IdliChecker that evaluates roundness, weight, and thickness and that would be a steaming hot product. You are welcome.