Nice Indian touch
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Cartoonist Neelabh Banerjee and artist Prabhakar Wairkar find their way to the Nice Carnival. NARAYANI HARIGOVINDAN takes a look into their creative journey.
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A drawing by Neelabh Banerjee.
"Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die"
Epicurus
IT WAS once again that time of the year when the sun-bathed promenades of Nice spilled over with colourful pageants and masquerades and revellers from the world over, gathered to party and dance like there was no tomorrow. Yes, the Nice Carnival, the premier winter event of the French Riviera had arrived and was celebrated this past fortnight.
The Nice Carnival is among the most famous Mardi Gras carnivals in the world, attracting over a million tourists. Mardis Gras literally means, "fat Tuesday" as it represents the last opportunity for excessive indulgence in food and drink before the solemn season of fasting. True to its name, in many Roman Catholic countries, since the Middle Ages, it is marked by weeks of festivities.
As the floats rolled out this year with their populace of quaint characters, two Indian cartoonists, Prabhakar Wairkar, an artist whose works have been featured widely, both nationally and internationally and Neelabh Banerjee, long-time illustrator and cartoonist with The Times of India had something to smile about. Their designs too were featured alongside others on the floats, depicting the theme "King of the Deranged Climate - Climatic Disorder and its Effects", inspired by the occurrence of erratic climatic conditions in recent times.
Prabhakar, a veteran on the international scene having participated in the International Comic Strip Festival in Sierre, Switzerland and Salon International Cartoon Festival (France 1995 and 1998) among others "is infused with national pride at this opportunity to represent India for the first time in this carnival." For Neelabh, this competition came as a welcome break from his routine. "The theme of deranged climate appealed to my deranged self," quips the affable creator of the Dubyaman, his popular spoof on Bush. Jokes apart, he continues on a more serious note "This topic has become inseparable from our daily lives. Take for instance February rains in Delhi. Do you need to look any further?"
Starting early
A drawing by Prabhakar Wairkar.
Born to a cartoonist father and a painter mother, Neelabh started cartooning for the children's section of local newspapers at age 12. All pocket money received would be stashed away to buy Tintin and Asterix comics. Yet he tried hard not to be a cartoonist, as he yearned for a more active profession, like being in the Army. This determination led him to be a crime reporter with an English daily, but before long it was clear to him that cartooning was where his heart lay and he found his way into The Times of India. "And here I am, 15 years in the business, with 14,000 published works and with no regrets!"
Neelabh's designs have found their way into many international journals and museums. Earlier he had participated in the 6th Asian Cartoon Exhibition, held in six Asian cities. "I realised like never before, that caricatures were a strong medium of expression that needs no language." He had done 10 silent cartoons for this exhibition, which were very well received.
But the caption also can be crucial and complements the sketch. Wit lies in brevity and this means "some 70 per cent of cartooning is thought and 30% drawing".
No child's play this and it is obvious why the light frivolous designs he did for the Nice floats were a welcome diversion for him. Of the five sketches that he made, it was the one depicting arctic conditions in the Sahara, dominated by a snow-capped Sphinx that clinched his selection. Prabhakar's features a futuristic hybrid between a penguin and a camel.
Back after the Nice Carnival, the tabula rasa Neelabh took with him is "full of funny images which can be put down only in lines and strokes"
So are you planning a series on the Nice Carnival, an exhibition perhaps?
"You'll see," is all he prefers to say for the moment.
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