‘A Pocketful of Chuckles’, an exhibition of works of the late cartoonist Mario Miranda, as part of his 90 birth anniversary celebrations, has been drawing good response. The iconic artist has touched the lives of Goans for generations with a touch of humour.
The exhibition at Gallery Gitanjali here features 60 original pocket cartoons and 14 larger works and are available on sale. The exhibition will go up to May 21.
“The exhibition has been received with love, curiosity and admiration. Since the opening on Saturday, which drew a number of art lovers, collectors and friends and family of Mario Miranda, we have had people walking in and sifting through the folios to search for their own ‘Mario stories’,” Miriam Koshy-Sukhija, who runs Gallery Gitanjali, told presspersons on Monday.
Nostalgia uncoveredThe curiosity among visitors was all the more palpable as parents and grandparents of several people formed part of Mario’s Goa and featured in his works.
For many of Mario’s fans and admirers, it is the nostalgia that the pocket cartoons evoke, a chance to revisit the well-loved characters that Mario created, namely, Ms. Fonseca, the underdog, Godbole, the Boss, Bundaldass, the politician and the beggar.
While each of these are interesting characters in their own right, they are also significant in that they denote the myriad voices and entities that formed part of the growing urban identity of the post-Independence era in Bombay (now Mumbai).
With most of the works in private collections and very few original works available for sale, ‘A Pocketful of Chuckles’ is a rare opportunity for art lovers and collectors to see a large number of his works together.
Architect Gerard da Cunh, who collaborated with Mario for well over 16 years and long-time friend of Miranda, made the best of the occasion with the release of ‘The Life of Mario – 1949’. An Illustrated diary of the cartoonist, it recaps Miranda’s life when he was just 22 and a student at St. Xavier’s College in Bombay.
Visual diariesMario started keeping a visual diary from the age of 10, in which he documented life around him. These diaries form a rich visual commentary on Goa’s socio-cultural environment and document the development of his draftsmanship and style. This book is the third diary to be released, the others being from the years 1950 and 1951.
According to Gerard, Mario’s relevance lies in seeing the humorous side to life and issues in a world which is becoming increasingly divisive and violent.
“His gentle humour to make a point, is what people should strive for,” says Mr. da Cunh and goes on to add, “Mario’s work on Goa is very powerful and mesmerising which adds to this feeling of a fairyland.”
