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1. What led you to illustrating for children?
Partly out of necessity and partly for the love of book illustration, I opted for the profession. I was earning my bread alright. The butter and occasional jam used to come from selling paintings.
2. What are some of your memorable moments in your journey as an illustrator?
There are so many; some sweet, some are strange. I was utterly surprised when Geeta Dharmarajan of Katha, after having a quick look through the dummy, decided to publish it right away. And so my first story The Song of a Scarecrow came to pass. I feel pleased about shaking hands and sharing my books with Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam at the AWIC life time achievement award giving function. A brief yet memorable meeting. In another occasion, at the launch of Khushwant Singh’s Delhi through the seasons, I presumably should have been jubilant about the outcome of my five years of toil. I was not. There was emptiness inside. All the years I had been longing for sharing this moment with Khushwant ji. Sadly, that didn’t happen. We lost him a year before.
3. You began illustrating in the 80s, one of the first few who opened the doors of illustration in the world of Indian children’s literature. Illustrations for children in India has come a long way since then. What do you have to say about this journey, then to now?
Our generation grew up seeing the illustrations by the stalwarts like Pratul Banerjee, Mayukh Chowdhury, Jatindra Kumar Sen, Revati Bhushan, Bimal Das, Chittaprasad, Sudhir Moitra, Sameer Sarkar, the three generations of Ray family; Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, Sukumar Ray, Satyajit Ray, and many others. Later in Delhi I got in touch with seniors like Pulak Biswas and Micky Patel who took the illustration art to a new height.
In the last forty-four years I have found that an all-round technological advancement has given us much needed work freedom. The days of limited resources are gone. The social awareness about illustration in general has increased. The newly established Art and Design schools have widened the scope for education; as a result, a great number of young professionals have arrived.
4. Your vivid illustrations are striking and different from one another. Ravan Remedy, The Song of a Scarecrow, Ka – The Story of Garuda to name a few. What would you say about playing with style and to approach each book uniquely?
Style is the reflection of our own personality which shows naturally through the artistic expression. However, style becomes a brand creation when done in a labored manner. Such make-believe positioning lends to mannerism. The manneristic expressions are repetitive. I abhor repeating myself. In-fact, every new project begins with a renewed conscious effort to conceal my own presence.
“Where there is true art and genuine virtuosity the artist can paint an incomparable masterpiece without leaving even a trace of his identity”
— Orhan Pamuk
My Name is Red
5. You have illustrated for children and for adults. Is there a difference of approach?
Yes indeed! It is an equation involving the communicator and the target audience. Keeping the childlike innocence intact is important when working for children. Grown-ups’ world is a complex one.
6. What is the role of pictures/illustrations in storying?
Pictures had been the prime medium for documentation and telling tales in all civilizations. In the medieval era during the expansion drive of knowledge base, the Christian churches which otherwise preached austerity, found adding pictures, decorative gold borders and ornamental fonts enlivened the manuscripts. Hence the term illumination; a precursor to illustration. Making illustration could not be merely a job of visual translation of the text. It is rather a job of visual interpretation. With every ten words the illustrator has to add another nine hundred and ninety to complete the picture. After all a picture is worth a thousand words.
7. What is the most complex illustration that you have done so far?
Delhi through the seasons. Nature is complex, demands attention.
8. Is there a difference between a visual artist and an illustrator of picture books?
No. It is the ability that matters.
All painters are not artists, some are.
All picture-makers are not illustrators, some are.
Be it visual artists or illustrators, all are chitrakar. Traditionally the Indian languages have no separate terms to demark the two professions. In our culture both are the same. Lately some attempts have been made to coin new words.
9. Who are your favourite illustrators? And what are some of your favourite picture books?
Frankly I value the anonymous Ajanta artists who painted the Jataka tales all-time great.
My childhood favourite was Pratul Banerjee. And Atanu’s (Roy) wacky images always put a grin on my face.
10. Would you like to tell us about some of your upcoming works?
Reworking on some old book ideas.
11. What is your message for the young illustrators?
See around, look within.
