Bhubaneswar, June 28: Ranajit Mohanty, an animator -cum-filmmaker, has undertaken a project to publish a graphic novel on Nabakalebar in the style of the Amar Chitra Katha.

The graphic novel will be on the famous patta chitra style and artists from Raghurajpur are designing the pages.

The graphic novel will be published in four languages - Odia, Bengali, Hindi and English - and four volumes for each language. It will cover the origin of the Brahma from the Mahabharat to the Jagannath temple's history and the traditions and rituals associated with the Trinity. The novel will be published by the end of this year. The first volume will be out on July 18 to mark the rath yatra.

Mohanty told The Telegraph : "We cannot call it comics as it is different. It will contain pictorial depiction of the great religious tradition and the deities associated with it. The artists from Raghurajpur are also guiding us on the colour schemes as the art of patta chitra is based on natural dyes.''

Mohanty added that the graphic novel would contain everything about the origin of the concept of the Brahma from the death of Lord Krishna in the Mahabharat and his subsequent demise in the hands of a tribal hunter. The story of the Jagannath temple and how Indradyumna was instrumental in establishing the deities will be dealt with extensively in the first four volumes. There will also be a description of banajaga yatra , the journey to find the daru. ''

After the Nabakalebar and rath yatra editions, the graphic novel will take up issues such as the tales involving the followers of Lord Jagannath. Volumes will be published on legendary devotees such as Dasia Bauri, Bhakta Salabega, Bandhu Mohanty and poet Jayadev's story of Geeta Govinda .

Tales of the Kanchi abjiyan, in which Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra went to war to help the ruler of ancient Kalinga win against southern foes, will also be published in details. It will also feature the tales of Sriya Chandaluni, the famous devotee of Goddess Lakshmi.

The graphic novel will be the first of its kind in the state that involves the traditional art form of patta chitra to tell a story in details.

"Graphic novels and comics have multi-billion dollar markets across the world. For greater exposure, we plan to take it to the Mumbai ComicCon Express, an event which promotes graphic novels and comics, this December,'' Mohanty said.

The novel will be published by Om Sai EVC Technologies and distributed by Pacad Comics.

Pacad stands for People's Academy of Cinematics Animation and Design. It is an animation studio at Info City in Patia and Mohanty is its chief executive.