JOIN USSimple lines and strokes that depict Karnataka's richness and diversity
None could have better captured the richness and diversity of the land and people of Karnataka than Mario Miranda did in his illustrations for the book ‘The Open Eyes’.
An exhibition titled ‘Karnataka as seen by Mario’ at the Indian Cartoon Gallery here, showcases the illustrations which the internationally acclaimed Goan cartoonist made to support the writing by Dom Moraes for the book commissioned by the Department of Information, Government of Karnataka.
Miranda travelled across the state for the purpose, often accompanying the author Moraes and his wife Leela Naidu. Through simple lines and strokes, Miranda’s illustrations have captured in black and white the diverse colours of the state. A Yakshagana performance in Udupi, ruins of the Kittur fort, Lambani women dancing in the Yellamma temple in Dharwad are a few of the images that Miranda has immortalised in ink.
He has drawn caricatures of personalities such as Kuvempu, Mallikarjun Mansur and K M Cariappa. Ordinary scenes such as - of a crowd in Mangaluru watching a cock-fight, people in Dharwad standing in a queue to buy the famous Babusingh peda and workers toiling in the INDAL factory in Raichur, show how different life was as one moved from one part of the state to another.
The book, published in 1976, was the first in the series commissioned by the state government. During the Emergency, it was common for governments to publish full-page advertisements in newspapers, extolling the culture and heritage of their own states. It was during this period that Chiranjiv Singh, who then headed the Government of Karnataka’s Information Department, thought of commissioning books to document the diversity of the state.
“The then chief minister Devaraj Urs remarked that most MPs in Delhi think all people in south India are Madrasis. In this context, we felt that it was necessary to have literature to establish the identity of the state of Karnataka”, Singh explained. Two other books- ‘The Emerald Route’ by R K Narayan and R K Laxman and ‘Exploring Karnataka’ by H Y Sharada Prasad and photographers T S Satyan and T S Nagarajan- were also published as part of the project.
The exhibition which is on till August 27 is presented by the Indian Institute of Cartoonists. V G Narendra, managing trustee of the institute, recalls how Miranda patted him on the back for establishing the platform.
“Miranda had a very unique style of cartooning. Young cartoonists should make an effort to adopt it and take it forward,” he added.