Just as 'Phiz'Hablot Knight Browne-was to Charles Dickens and John Tenniel to Lewis Carroll, so was illustrator Jatindra Kumar Sen (18821966) to Rajshekhar Basu (1880-1960), the chemist, author and lexicographer, considered the sharpest humorist and satirist in Bengali literature. Both writer and illustrator had pseudonyms-Parashuram and Narad, respectively.
Like a laser beam, Basu's wit vaporised window-dressing and exposed societal hypocrisy. He held to ridicule human follies at a time when society was changing radically, Bengalis and middle-class were coming out of their shell to confront their white masters. Women rarely visible till then-were gradually becoming a formidable presence in public life, and that had an unsettling effect. Basu was unsparing in his attacks, and none escaped his jabs aimed alike at contemporary Bengali society, self-styled godmen, their followers and corrupt businessmen. He rewrote Hindu myths and gave a droll twist to tales derived from canonical texts.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 02, 2023-Ausgabe von India Today.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 02, 2023-Ausgabe von India Today.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Delhi's Belly
Academic, historian and one of India's most-loved food writers, PUSHPESH PANT'S latest book-From the King's Table to Street Food: A Food History of Delhi-delves deep into the capital's culinary heritage
IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO
Hemant and Kalpana Soren changed Jharkhand's political game, converting near-collapse into an extraordinary comeback
THE MAHA BONDING
At one time, Fadnavis, Shinde and Ajit Pawar were seen as an unwieldy trio with mutually subversive intent. A bumper assembly poll harvest inverts that
THE LION PRINCE
A spectacular assembly election win ended a long political winter for Kashmir and his party, the National Conference. But Omar Abdullah now faces crucial tests—that of meeting great expectations and holding his own with the Centre till J&K gets its statehood back
TRIAL BY FIRE
Formal charges in a US court, an air marked by accusations of bribery and concealment of information, the attendant political backlash, pressure on stock prices, valuation losses. Yet the famed Adani growth appetite and business resilience stays
'Criticism has always been a source of motivation for me'
It’s just day five since he was crowned 2024 FIDE World Chess champion (which he celebrated with a bungee jump), and Gukesh Dommaraju is still learning to adjust to the fanfare.
THE YOUNG GRANDMASTERS
GUKESH DOMMARAJU IS NOW THE YOUNGEST EVER WORLD CHAMPION, BUT THAT IS JUST ICING ON THE CAKE IN INDIA'S CHESS STORY. FOR THE 'GOLDEN GENERATION', 2024 WAS THE YEAR THEY DID IT ALL
SHOOTING QUEEN
Manu Bhaker scripted a classic turnaround at Paris 2024, putting the ghosts of the past behind her through sheer willpower to engrave her own destiny
THE COMEBACK KING
It was in no one's script: Naidu's standing leap from near-oblivion, to a place where he writes the destiny of Andhra—even New Delhi
HALTING THE BJP JUGGERNAUT
A roller-coaster year saw the Opposition coalition rebound with bold moves and policy wins, but internal rifts continue to test its durability
