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Photos: S. Mahinsha

Ethnic avatars (clockwise) Participants at work at the workshop; Some of the works formed part of the ‘Tintin in Pune’ exhibition

The workshop proved illuminating as it gave viewers an insight into what imprinted images we have in our psyche as to what makes up Kerala and a Malayali. From Tintin as a rubber tapper to Tintin leading a snake boat in a race and Tintin participating in the Thrissur Pooram, the workshop had Herge’s journalist-hero in various ethnic avatars.

Elephants seemed to be a favourite theme for most of the artistes. If one depicted Tintin as a mahout, another had Tintin riding on an elephant as he surveys the lush paddy fields around him. Sharath Kumar from Toonz has Tintin as a ‘nadan’ lad who plays the chenda. Says Sharath: “I hail from a village. There, chenda melams are a common scene, and as I play the chenda myself, I have shown Tintin so.”

For Nirmala Pauldas from Vismayas Max, Sabarimala is what comes to mind when one says Kerala. “Sabarimala is a well-known pilgrimage spot. You have people coming from across the country and from abroad too to visit the temple.”

And so, she has Tintin in a black attire on his way to the pilgrim centre.

Rakhi Raj from Toonz has depicted the hero in the ethnic vesham,’ complete with a juba, mundu and a ‘kalan kuda.’

Most of the participants at the workshop were Tintin buffs. In fact two school students who were self-professed Tintin fans took part in the workshop too.

Joy Shivakumar, a class 10 student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Pattom, drew a cartoon script of the character. “It shows Tintin arriving in Kerala. As he lands in Kerala, he is kidnapped by his enemies. He manages to escape though and tours the State,” says Joy.

Jacob Abraham, a class eight student of St. Thomas, however, has the hero walking down the streets of Fort Kochi as he takes sips from a tender coconut.

The workshop was organised by Alliance Francaise de Trivandrum in association with the Embassy of France as part of an exhibition titled ‘Tintin in Pune.’ According to a spokesperson at Alliance Francaise de Trivandrum, the best of these works by the participants at the workshop is likely be displayed alongside the ‘Tintin in Pune’ exhibits as it travels across the country.

‘Tintin in Pune’ features drawings by students of Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Fine Arts, Pune, at a workshop held last year to mark the birth centenary of Herge, the creator of Tintin.

The exhibition, held at Alliance Francaise de Trivandrum, has Tintin in various Indian locales and costumes. If one has the hero as a politician with a paunch trying to garner votes during an election with a puzzled Snowy by his side, another has a bespectacled Tintin as a journalist complete with kurta, jute bag and all trying to find a scoop for his paper. An amusing depiction of Tintin is the one which has Tintin playing the sitar as Snowy protests howling.

According to Deepak S. Raj from Vismayas, the workshop is a fine tribute to the creator of Tintin. “Herge has always tried to feature the culture, lifestyle and political conditions of the time through Tintin and his adventures, a workshop like this, seems a fitting tribute to him.”

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