Lines, scribbles and lots of humour are the tools of trade that fuel the creations of Sailesh Gopalan of Brown Paperbag Comics and Harshveer Jain of Storyseller Comics. The two Instagram artists talk to Tina Dastur about their love for their art, their favourite webcomics and making a meaningful impact through their stories.
A BAG FULL OF FUN
Even as a child, Sailesh Gopalan, the founder of the Instagram strip Brown Paperbag Comics, loved reading comics, watching animated shows and replicating the characters on paper. Outlining where his interest in doodling stemmed from, the 22-year-old says, “My parents tell me I’ve been drawing since I was a toddler. They’ve still kept some of my early drawings, so I’ll take their word for it. I grew up reading Indian comic books like Tinkle and Amar Chitra Katha and international ones like Tintin, Asterix and Archie Comics, among others. My interests kept evolving, and so did my artistic style. I had a long phase of referencing anime and manga characters as well, from shows like Pokémon and Dragon Ball Z. I later got into comic strips like Calvin and Hobbes and Pearls Before Swine, both of which helped me shape my aesthetic and comedic style.”
On the choice of the name for his handle, he states, “Do you remember those old cartoons where characters would put a brown paper bag on their heads to hide their faces out of utter embarrassment? That was the idea I started out with, but ‘brown’ also resonated with the colour associated with us Indians. Most importantly, though, the name just had a nice ring to it, so I went ahead with it.”
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Denne historien er fra Verve Man 2019-utgaven av Verve.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Making Amends
This generation’s penchant for thoughtless consumption gets Madhu Jain roiled up, and she wonders if nature is getting its own back for our missteps…
Diamonds With Provenance
In keeping with the company’s commitment to environmental and social responsibility, Anisa Kamadoli Costa, chief sustainability officer at Tiffany & Co. and chairman and president at The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, enlightens Shirin Mehta on the efforts that make the jewellery giant an industry leader in transparency
SARTORIAL ECONOMICS
Sisters Tashi and Tara Mitra demonstrate to Akanksha Pandey how deviating from the mainstream can bend the way we think, live and dress
NOTES TO SELF
An anthropomorphized tiger’s perspective, a viscerally worded futuristic interpretation of loss, a critique of performative activism, a meta reflection on the earth’s crises. Told through different lenses, Janaki Lenin, Indrapramit Das, Keshava Guha and Roshan Ali’s stories — written exclusively for Verve — attempt to make sense of the fraught reality that we exist in today
The Eternal Optimist
As Generation X and xennials grapple with fully transitioning to conscious living, young millennials and Generation Z are leading the charge to reverse human-caused environmental damage. Sahar Mansoor, founder and CEO of the Bengaluru-based zero-waste social enterprise Bare Necessities, has a simple overarching philosophy: consume less and stay positive. Verve gets deeper into the mindset of the action-oriented earth advocate
Redemption SONGS
Indian music festivals have been demonstrating a refreshing sense of responsibility in terms of their ecological impact. Interacting with stakeholders who strive to make these large-scale events greener, Akhil Sood investigates the reasons behind the improved attitudes of audiences and the increase in corporate support.
earth hour
Crafted using nature’s elements, these dials draw inspiration from the many heterogeneous materials and hues around us.Verve turns its lens onto a mesmerising few
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Children are holding adults accountable for both the grim future they are facing and the toll this is taking on their mental health. Madhumita Bhattacharyya initiates conversations with families of young climate activists and observes the extent to which parenting has changed in the face of catastrophe
NATURAL JUSTICE
Most of us are only just waking up to the urgency of climatic action. When the stakes are so high, what can individual action solve? Mridula Mary Paul, an environmental policy expert, is proof of the tenacity needed to effect systemic change. It’s not glamorous, and the rewards are few and far between, but that doesn’t stop her from aiming big, finds Anandita Bhalerao
Along For The Ride
Navigating Indian streets as a woman is hard enough. But what is it like while riding a bicycle? Bengaluru-based Shreya Dasgupta, a regular cyclist, speaks to five urban women about the pros and cons of this increasingly popular means of transport.
