Kolkata :
Jadavpur University Press on Friday started the process of compiling a graphic anthology of 10 short stories by Rabindranath Tagore with Harper Collins as the co-publisher. It also launched a book of essays by Upendrakishore Raychowdhury on half-tone photography, published in a single volume for the first time. And professor Abhijit Gupta and Deeptanil Ray of JU unveiled a website that showcases the evergreen comic books generations have grown up devouring.
“Raychowdhury had written the essays in Penrose’s Pictorial Annual, a London-based magazine that reviewed graphic art. British Library had the only copies of the magazine and gave us permission to reproduce them in a facsimile edition. We have not edited a word and have printed images of those articles,” said Dr Devalina Mookerjee, development editor at JUP. When asked about the Tagore project, she added: “We want the artists to look at the stories in the context of contemporary world. The artists will be working independently.”
Illustrators Vishwajyoti Ghosh, Trinankur Banerjee, Sarbajit Sen and Nitesh Mohanty discussed their work and plans with Rimi B Chatterjee as the moderator.
Later, Mohanty told TOI: “It’s a one-of-its-kind project where all artists will bring in their essence to the eternal spirit of Tagore. We will stick to the original and there will be no deviation from the original story.” Banerjee agreed and added: “And to retain the spirit of the doodles, the book will mostly be in black and white. But there will be a colour section as well,”
Professor Emeritus Sukanta Chaudhuri regaled the audience with an address on Tagore’s doodles while Sekhar Mukherjee, former head of the animation department at National Institute of Design, spoke on the animated ‘Birpurush’ that has been in the works for a while now.
The day was rounded off with a discussion on ‘Upendrakishore’s versatile genius’ with Prasad Ranjan Roy, Subhendu Dasmunshi and Amlan Dasgupta. Samantak Das was the moderator.
Former home secretary Roy, who is also related to Upendrakishore, said: “Satyajit Ray had written about how he showed the same passion of violin and pakhowaj. At night he would study stars with a telescope while in day he would take to the canvas with oil and watercolour. Possibly, he took up half-tone photography after his drawings for ‘Chheleder Ramayan’ became unusable. But his daughter Purnalata has written that he took it up while in the UK.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / TNN / August 30th, 2014