CHENNAI: As a young boy, Biswajit Balasubramanian loved art, scribbling and doodling wherever he could, be it at the back of his notebook during the public art trips organised by his school. After finishing school in Madurai, Biswajit got a call from a friend in Chennai, urging him to come take an exam that involved drawing.
With his interests piqued, the happy-go-lucky boy aced the National Institute of Design (NID) exam. In 1980s, NID wasn’t the brand it is today. ‘What will you do with a design degree,’ his father asked. A clueless Biswajit gave in and picked up an application for a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce. Little did he know that the art he once deemed futile would go on to become synonymous with his name!
In a tete-a-tete with Biswajit, the now-renowned cartoonist and co-owner of Forum Art Gallery (with his artist-wife Shalini) we see a glimpse of that little boy. Having worked with several mainstream dailies and magazines besides his commissioned work for public spaces, restaurants and work areas, the 54-year-old is eager to teach. He seems excited as he describes his upcoming comic workshop at the gallery on March 25.
“Everyone loves the idea of comics. They have come up in a big way in popular culture, with people coming up to me and saying, ‘I want to create a comic’. It is easier said than done and that’s why we want to do a complete A-Z at this workshop,” says the artist.
During the one-day workshop, people above 15 will collaborate and make a comic anthology, with key areas of learning being format, continuity and interest. With a set theme in place, each participant is in charge of creating a page of this book. “If you look at Asterix and Tintin, you will see that the first and the last frame of each page maintain continuity and a sense of suspense. We don’t have one quality comic to put in that league from India. So it needs to start with the basics,” he adds.
Biswajit is quick to add that even if all you can draw is a stick figure, an interest to create a quality comic can find form here at his workshop. “It’s a collaborative effort and at the end of it, I want everyone to go home thinking ‘we can do it’. Nothing is hard if shown with proper guidance,” he adds. Participants are expected to get stationery they are most comfortable with, while paper will be provided at the venue. They also get copies of the anthology created.
Known for his socially-charged art and his gag cartoons, Biswajit is clear about not stepping into the political sphere. “It gets quite annoying when words are asked to be removed from your captions or certain changes are made because someone will get offended.”
In 15 years, he managed to steer clear of digitisation despite laying hands on the equipment. “Call me old school but I’ve never gotten around using a Wacom Tab that I got from New York. My wife gives me a lot of grief for it (chuckles)! The feel of pen on paper just makes work so much more engaging. That’s something technology can’t buy,” he says.
The artist who is currently working on a soon-to-be-opened park in Madurai says “I am going back to my roots. The park is to be dedicated to Bharathiyar and I have a rough idea which the people of the city will breathe life into come April.”
The cartoonist finds himself rambling about a decade-and-a-half struggle for legitimacy for cartoonists even within the art community in the country. “I once had a friend who wanted me to design his visiting card. I was caught up with a number of commitments but offered to try. The friend went on to add, ‘I’ll pay you if you want’. I don’t know how he assumed I’d do it for free! This is my living,” he rues, slipping into a tiny lament about the lack of value of this subsection of artists here.
Having begun his career drawing for S Muthiah’s Madras Musings, the history enthusiast in him comes brimming to the surface as he explains how 800 years of foreign rule have systematically made us better administrators, leaving the creator behind in time. “The British and the western world as such brought about the Industrial revolution because at that point in time, we needed innovation, machines and efficiency. Now, they have moved on and are pushing the bars of creativity and we are still stuck at being industrial. Hence the engineer-doctor syndrome,” he quips, drawing attention to a crucial difference in the way art is perceived within and outside the country’s peripheries.
Biswajit is also working on a graphic novel and while he keeps mum about the concept, he promises us an exciting project in the years to come.
(`2,500 for the one-day workshop on March 25 at Forum Art Gallery. For details, call: 42115596).
(The writer is a freelance journalist)