If you love Asterix comics and wondered why they weren't available in Hindi all this while, this is for you. The first four volumes of the comic series, translated in Hindi, were released on Wednesday at the Embassy of France in the capital by the French ambassador, Alexandre Ziegler. 

Published by Om Books International, the books have been translated by Dipa Chaudhari and Puneet Gupta with a goal to spread the readership of of the iconic French comic book among the Indian audience. The four volumes translated so far are Gaulwasi Asterix, Asterix Sone ki Darati, Asterix aur Gawthwasi, and Asterix Talwarbaz.

"Asterix captures the intricacy of French cultures with its jokes and songs hence while translating we found it extremely challenging to blend in Indian culture", said Gupta. "We used the popular, evergreen Hindi song 'Jeena Yahan, Marna Yahan' to 'Jeena Yahan, Gana Yahan' to replace one of the classic French songs that Asterix sings in the comics."

"By the end of the four volumes, we had a encyclopedia of about 250 names, songs and onomatopoeias for reference for the next 33 volumes", added Chaudhari at the launch.

Asterix's adventures began about half a century ago, written by Renne Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo. Hugely popular around the world, it revolves around Asterix, a gaul, and his village, trying to resist the Roman invasion in 50 BCE. There is a magic potion which gives the consumer superhuman strength, comical anecdotes, and unforgettable characters in the comics which have made children and adults laugh the past decades.

"Asterix was a particular favourite of mine as a kid and now it is the same for my children. It's hard to imagine that they have existed for nearly 60 years", said the French ambassor on the longevity of the series.  

While this endeavour took over four years to complete, you will be happy to know that the remaining 33 volumes are being translated and you will soon be able to get your hands on them.