100 years of Bengali comics-100 years of history
Mint Mumbai|February 24, 2024
An exhibition aims to gain old Bengali comics some new respect, but it seems like an uphill task as most contemporary artists prefer to work in English rather than Bengali
SANDIP ROY
100 years of Bengali comics-100 years of history

When I was young I subscribed to a popular Bengali children's magazine, Anandamela, in Kolkata. My parents thought it might help to add some Bengali fibre to a literary diet that had too much Enid Blyton, Richmal Crompton's William Brown, and Tintin.

But the Bengali magazine also carried Tintin. In Bengali.

"I think the golden age of Bengali comics came to an end when magazines started to carry translated comics like Tintin and Tarzan," says Abhijit Gupta, professor of English literature at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, and comics collector and researcher, at the opening of a new exhibition, Comics In Bengal, in the city about Bengali comics from the 1920s to the present day.

Gupta isn't dissing the translations. Tintin in Bengali caused a sensation when it first appeared in 1975. The renowned Bengali writer Nirendranath Chakraborty did the translation, the first one in an Indian language.

Even now translators marvel at how he rendered Captain Haddock's "billions of blue blistering barnacles" into "jotto shob gneri guglir jhaank" (all those swarms of clams and molluscs). Sophisticated Bengalis regarded gneri-gugli as lowly food that poor people scrounged from river banks, giving Haddock's outburst a piquantly Bengali punch while preserving the crustacean flavour of the original.

"It was great," says Gupta. "But did it happen at the expense of homegrown comics?" The homegrown Bengali comics struggled to compete against the cosmopolitanism of Tintin and Asterix.

Gupta's own nickname testifies to their cultural footprint. It's Tintin.

Tintin was not the first international comic to make landfall in India. In 1958,

Phantom Of The Jungle got an authorised Bengali translation as Aranyadev.

But long before that, Bengali comic book artists were happily "borrowing" international comic book characters and sending them on local adventures.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 24, 2024-Ausgabe von Mint Mumbai.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 24, 2024-Ausgabe von Mint Mumbai.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS MINT MUMBAIAlle anzeigen
India's economic performance is pretty robust on most counts
Mint Mumbai

India's economic performance is pretty robust on most counts

The economy's back on its high-growth path and fiscal consolidation is on track but our labour market remains a concern

time-read
3 Minuten  |
October 31, 2024
Mint Mumbai

We should be more receptive to paradigm-shifting ideas

Do we really have free will? Our brains are not wired to accept radical thoughts easily but we must try

time-read
3 Minuten  |
October 31, 2024
We need to invest in nature for the sake of humanity's future
Mint Mumbai

We need to invest in nature for the sake of humanity's future

Money must flow into what saves rather than harms biodiversity

time-read
3 Minuten  |
October 31, 2024
Is gold worth its weight amid our demat assets?
Mint Mumbai

Is gold worth its weight amid our demat assets?

It has been a buzzy buy in recent times, with its price soaring over the past year. Investors, however, are likely to be better served by going for intangible forms of this precious metal

time-read
2 Minuten  |
October 31, 2024
Mint Mumbai

The country needs to map its informal economy better

We need more accurate data on enterprises that play a major role in employing people

time-read
3 Minuten  |
October 31, 2024
Mint Mumbai

Some states have started to slip off their fiscal correction paths

Populist outlays and capital expenditure have widened their budget deficits. They must tighten up

time-read
3 Minuten  |
October 31, 2024
How a businessman in his 50s went gung-ho on MFs
Mint Mumbai

How a businessman in his 50s went gung-ho on MFs

From telecom retail to mutual fund: SIPs have bridged Singh's post-covid business slowdown

time-read
4 Minuten  |
October 31, 2024
Principal disabled? Know your PoA rights
Mint Mumbai

Principal disabled? Know your PoA rights

My father has been in coma following an accident. He had granted me a power of attorney (PoA) to manage his money, but the PoA has no specified duration. Is it legally valid for me to withdraw funds or conduct other transactions on his behalf for his medical treatment? -Name withheld on request

time-read
1 min  |
October 31, 2024
HOW SALMA HAYEK IS REDEFIMNG PHILANTHROPY
Mint Mumbai

HOW SALMA HAYEK IS REDEFIMNG PHILANTHROPY

In the worlds of Hollywood, fashion and activism, there's never been anyone quite like Salma.

time-read
9 Minuten  |
October 31, 2024
WORLD SAVINGS DAY: A REALITY CHECK ON INDIA'S DWINDLING HOUSEHOLD SAVINGS CRISIS
Mint Mumbai

WORLD SAVINGS DAY: A REALITY CHECK ON INDIA'S DWINDLING HOUSEHOLD SAVINGS CRISIS

High inflation and easy credit lead to financial instability due to overspending and rising debt

time-read
3 Minuten  |
October 31, 2024