Fat Cat

‘Party ‘til the cows come home

Then party with the cows.’

Who else but Garfield could have come up with such lines. I make no bones about the fact that I am an unabashed fan of this fat furry cat whose comic strip is amongst the world’s most widely circulated syndicated comic strips. It appears in more than 2500 newspapers around the world (including The Times of India) and is read by more than 250 million readers in more than a 100 countries. The first strip appeared in June 1978 and even after 35 years, it is still going strong. Garfield related merchandise, books, animated series on television and a couple of Hollywood movies have further strengthened his popularity which cuts across all age barriers.

Garfield's earlier avtaar

Jim Davis (the creator) grew up on a small farm in Indiana (USA) which had around 25 cats of different varieties. Hence, he was well exposed to cat behaviour from an early age and it also helped that his mother was an artist and helped inculcate a desire for drawing from an early age. Jim studied Art in college (he graduated with one of the lowest grades in the history of the university!!) and in his initial years worked for an advertising agency. After two years, he became an assistant to an established cartoonist, Tom Ryan, and picked up valuable tips on producing a daily cartoon strip. During his spare time, he worked on developing his own strip and his first one was based on an assortment of weird insects. Since this found no buyers, Jim decided to try his luck again with a fat, arrogant orange cat called Garfield (named after his grandfather James A.Garfield). Initially it was turned down by newspaper syndicates but then United Media decided to accept it and the rest, as they say, is history. Davis then decided to expand the characters (Jon, the muddle headed owner was obviously there from the beginning) and Odie the dog was the first to be added. Spooky (Garfield’s teddy bear) was next. There was also Jon’s roommate called Lyman but he was dropped in 1983 and has since not been brought back. The look of the characters itself also underwent a change as Jim polished his craft (see photograph above).The last character to be added to the strip was Arlene, Jon’s gap-toothed girlfriend.



Garfield and Family

I am fond of cats and since we had a cat as a pet, while in school, I can see that there are certain characteristics that Jim has caught spot on about their characteristics-arrogance, lazy, greedy and self-centred top the list. Jim has added more zing  by adding some characteristics on his own to the character which have made Garfield so popular – like lasagne –loving, party hopping, exercise hating, coffee guzzling, spider whacking, mouse loving , postman chasing , TV loving and obviously dog  hating   (poor Odie, who is mostly at the receiving end). Apart from the strip in the TOI a large collection of the strips has been brought out in book form by Wisdom tree  in India, However my favourite  is 30 Years of Laughs and Lasagna – The life and times of a fat, furry legend (published on Garfields’30^th birthday by Ballantine books   and distributed by Random House in India). Apart from presenting the best strips from each decade it also features 30 favourite strips of Jim Davis, each accompanied by a brief commentary by Jim which gives an insight into what goes in his mind while he is writing /sketching a new strip. Now let me end with another piece of wisdom from our fat friend

‘Eat and sleep...there must be more to life than that-but I hope not!’

Garfield at his philosophical best









THE STUPID GUY RETURNS

Imagine a Japanese comics artist, with no knowledge of Hindi and a limited knowledge of English deciding to come to India (Delhi) to translate Japanese comics (popularly known as Manga) into Hindi and hoping to convert India into Manga lovers overnight! All this at a shoe string budget and hence  operating from  a small 15 sq. mtr room ( rent  of Rs. 4500 /pm) with a shared bathroom and kitchen. The madness which follows formed the first instalment of the graphic novel titled Stupid Guy Goes to India which was published in 2011 by Blaft Publications Pvt. Ltd. (The original Japanese version was published in 2008 in Japan). By the end of the adventure, he did manage to publish a comic in Hindi but unfortunately there were no takers for it and he had to return to Japan empty handed.

Three years later the author, Yukichi Yamamatsu decides to try his luck again and returns to India with a new strategy to sell Manga comics. (Stupid Guy Goes back to India, Blaft Publications Pvt. Ltd., 2013). After all the disasters first time round, one would have thought the author would have learnt a lesson but he is still determined to make Indians read a Manga (Hindi translation). He now plans to perform Japanese stand-up comic tradition known as Manzai and sell Japanese Udon noodles to attract people. Once he has collected enough crowd he hopes they will buy his translated comic as well.  After a few days in a hotel at Paharganj, Delhi, he moves in to the same tiny room where he had stayed earlier, next door to Surinder and family with whom he had developed good relations last time he was in Delhi. However unlike last time, this edition concentrates more on his efforts and tribulations to translate Manzai and make and sell Udon noodles rather than on translation of the manga which he plans to sell in India (‘Cycle Rickshaw Wale Ki Dukaan’ CRWKD). Most of the action takes place in a slum where he sets up a stall to sell Udon noodles. Does he succeed in his endeavor to attract people to his Manzai act? Do the people in the slum take a liking to Udon noodles? And most important does he finally manage to sell a Manga comic? Read the crazy capers of Yukichi in this second edition to find out the answers. I must add here that the translated comic which he plans to sell in Delhi (CRWKD) itself is very touching and strikes an emotional chord.

However, there is a note of caution too. If you have read a Mange comic before then you will know what to expect but if not then you need to be prepared for some unusual graphics and style. Manga comics tend to have a standard size (like a digest) and a common writer and artist (Yukichi Yamamstsu, in this case).They are usually devoid of colours and are read from right to left instead of the traditional way of reading from  left to right. The emotions are exaggerated which make for some rather loud visuals which may not be appreciated by everyone. Also due to certain graphics I would not recommend this one for kids.

Towards the end, there is a chapter on Yukichi’s experiences with public toilets in India. And considering the fact that he spent a lot of time in slums you can very imagine what to expect. It is however a bit surprising that he spent most of his time in slums and in areas around Paharganj and does not venture beyond Connaught place. Any person reading this in Japan would form a very poor opinion of India and I hope next time Yukichi is in Delhi he spends  some time in better parts of the city to be able to give a more representative picture of India back home.

The Magician

Main pal do pal ka shayar hoon

 Pal do pal meri kahani hai

 Pal do pal meri hasti hai

 Pal do pal meri jawani hai

 

For a long time we did not have much literature available on the iconic film personalities of Hindustani cinema. It is difficult to say what was the exact reason for the same but maybe it had something to do with the reading habits of the people and a general lack of critical analysis of the personalities and films with respect to their social and cultural affect. Things however started to change in the last the 10 to 15 years and now we have a regular flow of books on cinema, though of uneven quality. I think Nasreen Munni Kabir’s Guru Dutt-A Life in Cinema (OUP 1996) was amongst the earliest of serious efforts to document the life of an icon of Hindustani cinema.

Akshay Manwani’s book Sahir Ludhianvi: The People’s Poet (Harper Collins 2013) is a welcome recent addition to the list. A book on Sahir, considered by some to be the greatest lyricist ever of Hindustani cinema, was long overdue. Sahir was already an established poet before he came to Bombay in 1949 (his first collection of poems, Talkhiyan, was published in 1943 to critical acclaim) and from 1951 onwards he wrote songs for more than 100 films till his  death in 1981.His best work was in the 50s and 60s (considered to be the golden era for Hindustani film music). His songs for Pyaasa , Naya Daur (both in 1957) and Phir Subah Hogi (1958) firmly established him as a ‘conscience keeper’ for the common man and went a long way in establishing these movies as ‘Classics’ of Hindustani cinema. However, there was much more to Sahir. Be it a romantic number (Hum aapkee ankhon mein from Pyaasa) or a comic song (Sar jo tera chakraye, again from Pyaasa), a bhajan (Allah tero naam from Hum Dono) or a qawwali (Na to karwan kee talaash hain from Barsaat ki Raat) or a patriotic number (Yeh desh hai veer jawanon ka from Naya Daur) - he excelled in all forms. During his time there was formidable talent writing in Bombay including Shailender, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Shakeel Badaiyuni, Kaifi Azmi amongst many other poets. Still, he was able to hold on his own by his sheer talent and depth of his words. Initially in his career, he formed a hit partnership with S D Burman (Baazi, Jaal, Devdas ) but they fell out after the success of Pyaasa (each claiming credit for the success of the film’s music) but  such was Sahir’s talent that he still went on to give memorable songs with the then  less-established  music directors like Ravi and Khayyam.

Akshay’s well researched book traces Sahir’s life right from his troubled child hood  (his father was a wayward wealthy landlord and Sahir’s mother soon moved out and brought up Sahir entirely on her own) and graduation in Ludhiana and his subsequent movement first to Lahore and then eventually to Bombay after a brief stay in Delhi. Sahir shared a deep bond with his mother and his health started deteriorating rapidly after her death in 1976. He went into a shell (as Yash Copra quotes Sahir, ‘Kuch mazaa nahin aa raha likhney ka’) and never came out of it.

The author has managed to interview a host of non-film and  film personalities who were directly or indirectly associated with Sahir - Dev Anand, Khayyam, Ravi, Javed Akhtar, Ravi Chopra, Ramesh Talwar  and of course, Yash Chopra, a fellow Punjabi and a close friend (as long as Sahir lived, all films directed by Yash Copra had songs by him).

Sahir did not marry but had his share of affairs and heart-breaks. His relationship with Amrita Pritam is well known and the interview with Imroze (Amrita Pritam’s husband) is one of the highlights of the book. In the 70s, the film industry was undergoing a change with the emergence of the angry young man persona of Amitabh Bachchan but yet Sahir-Khayyam duo was able to give us a gem in the form of Kabhi -Kabhi in 1976.The title song is one of my personal favorites and infact introduced me to the magic world of Sahir. Amitabh’s soliloquy (Kabhi-Kabhi mere dil mein khayal aata hai) still gives me goose pimples.

I would have liked the author to ask Sahir’s close associates like Yash Chopra and Javed Akhtar as to what did they do to preserve his legacy(I remember reading a few years back that  his grave in Bombay had been vandalized). Could they have converted his house into a memorial ? Still this is a commendable effort and I am sure will attract a host of new generation fans towards Sahir and his  immortal lyrics. Next I would like to see an English translation of Takhiyan. Will someone oblige?

Kal aur ayenge nagmon ki khilti kaliyan chunnewale
Mujhese behetar kahenewale tumse behetar sunnewale
Kal koi mujhko yaad karhey kyon koi mujhko yaad karhey
Masroof zamana mere liye kyon waqt apna barbadh kare
Main pal do pal ka shayar hoon

Arab Spring

 

Normally I would be very sceptical of picking up a book on the Middle East by a western journalist because often their views tend to be  biased and I guess are designed to cater to their local audience. Not so in the case of Paul Danahar’s insightful book The New Middle East: The world after the Arab spring (Bloomsbury). Paul Danahar was the BBC’s Middle East Bureau Chief from 2010 to 2013 and hence was a witness at close quarters to the startling events which started unfolding in the Middle East starting with Tunisia in January 2011 and then engulfed Egypt, Libya and Syria. Paul devotes a chapter analysing each of these countries, pre and post the people’s revolution and also looks at Iraq, Israel and the American Middle East policy and its implications in details in separate chapters. It is quite evident that the way the dictators of these countries had been brutally suppressing   their own people in the past (Be it Ben Ali of Tunisia or Muammar Gaddafi of Libya) this revolution was waiting to happen and it only need a spark for ignition. The spark   was provided by the death of a fruit seller in Tunisia who immolated himself on 17^th December 2010 after being repeatedly harassed by govt officials for bribe. He died on 4 January 2011 and ‘the old Middle East died with him’. The most remarkable thing about the overthrow of the dictator in Tunisia was that it was accomplished without any bloodshed or any external intervention. Alas, the same cannot be said of other countries caught in this awakening. Militia are still calling the shots in Libya, Syria is in the throes of a civil war with mounting causalities and Egypt is again facing a crisis after the recent coup by the Army.

The author traces the history (right from the inception of each of the state) of each country and offers a detailed political and social analysis of their society right upto 2013 including the reasons for the revolutions and what the future holds. As Jason Burke says in the blurb, ‘Anyone interested in the Middle East, its present, past or future, should read this book’.

I particularly found the chapter on Egypt very interesting. Two major forces (The Muslim Brotherhood and the army) have had a strong effect on every aspect of the Egyptian society since long and it is the tussle between these two that will continue to shape the future of Egypt. Both these organisations have been led by some amazing people in the past-Nasser and Sadat for the Army and Al-Banna (founder of Muslim Brotherhood) and Sayyid Qutb (described by some as the intellectual grandfather to Osama Bin Laden and his fellow terrorists’) for the Muslim Brotherhood. Knowing the details about their lives makes for a fascinating read. Muslim Brotherhood came into power in the elections held after Mubarak was forced to resign in 2011.However, after only a year the army is now back in power after a coup and even as I write , both are locked in a bloody duel for power.

Paul is very scathing in his criticism of the US in the chapter dealing with Iraq and rightly so. The country is still paying a heavy price (more than 1 lac Iraqi’s have lost their lives since the war was officially declared over by President Bush) for USA’s inept handling of the post Saddam era (‘The invasion of Iraq was a military success. The occupation of Iraq was a disaster’) which has lead to frequent clashes between the Shia and Sunni communities. The shocking behaviour of the American soldiers at Abu Gharib prison further alienated the Iraqi public. It is however  surprising that  the author makes no mention of his home country, Britain, which blindly (remember how Tony Blair was often referred to as George Bush’s poodle!) went along with all of USA’s disastrous decisions in Iraq. Surely they need to take their part of the blame.

You may find the chapter on Israel a tad lengthy as Paul delves deep into the Israeli society to understand the divisions within the society. However, it is clear that whatever may be the fault lines in the Israeli society, there does not seem to be any solution in sight for the contentious Palestine issue. The Obama administration does not trust the right wing Israeli Prime Minister, Netanyahu and vice-versa. Mahmud Abbas is getting nowhere with his conciliatory approach whereas Hamas, with its aggression, continues to get stronger in the Gaza strip. Also Paul seems to go soft when it comes to highlighting the atrocities committed by Israeli Army against the Palestinians. However, this seems to be a minor hiccup in this otherwise comprehensive book on understanding the recent changes in the Middle East.

Mofussil Junction

At times, just the cover of a book attracts me so much that I end up buying the book impulsively. The same happened when I saw Ian Jack’s ‘Mofussil Junction’ (India Encounters 1977-2012, Penguin 2013) recently and thanks to the online shopping I was holding the book in my hands in no time. There are two lovely images on front and back of the cover with gel in effortlessly with the title of the book (See image below).I have a fascination for small towns/semi-urban areas and the this book seemed just right up my alley. Shortly afterwards I attended the Bangalore Literary Festival where I had the good fortune of listening to Ian Jack in person and also managed to get my copy signed by him (He seemed a bit surprised when I approached him for his autograph as he was sitting next to Shobha De and most of the crowd was interested in getting books autographed by her only!!).He looked quite old and weak (as compared to the photograph which appears on the cover in the book) but  from his conversation during the festival I could make out that he was still mentally very agile and was someone with a formidable intellect. (He still writes a column for the Guardian). Let me confess upfront that I had not heard about Ian Jack earlier but after my brief encounter with him I would like to read more and more what he has written. I am currently reading Mofussil Junction (MJ) which is a ‘collection of essays, profiles and reportage of subjects, which he encountered in more than thirty years of reporting from India’. The book is divided into five parts starting with Places, followed by People, Dynasty, Life and Death and Fellow Travelers. I am at part two at present and already hooked on to the book! Part one dealt with with favourite subject-travels into small town India (or as the British would have called-Mofussil areas (Mofussil has its origin in the Urdu word Mufassil)). The towns he visits include Motihari in Bihar, Serampur in West Bengal and McCluskiegunge in Jharkhand. I do not recollect hearing about either of these small towns before I read MF and am pretty sure that neither would any reader be familiar with these but each of this small town has a lot of Indo-British history attached which Jack sets out to explore. Motihari is the birthplace of George Orwell (best known in India for his cult novels Nineteen Eighty-four and Animal Farm). George’s father worked for the British civil services in India   and Jack seeks to trace the bungalow where he resided. He enlists the help of some prominent local citizens is his quest but does he succeed?

Serampur, located on the banks of the river Hoogly was first colonized by the Danish East India Company in around 1676 and had an exotic name- Fredricksnagore after the Danish king. Later, in 1845, the Danish sold all their Indian colonies to the British East India Company. Ian traces the history of Serampur through the life and times of former shoemaker turned missionary, William Carey. In the forty odd years that Carey stayed in the area, till his death in 1834, he was responsible for establishing a college, a hospital, a printing press and newspapers in English and Bengali. How did a weaver’s son and a shoemaker in Northamptonshire end up in a tiny place off the cost of West Bengal and adopted it as his own makes for a fascinating tale.

However, the most poignant tale comes from his travel to McCluskiegunge. We have all heard of McLeodgunge (mini Tibet and also know for cricket matches now) and also Forbesgunj (recently in news because of communal riots) but McCluskiegunge? I had heard of it. Maybe this is opinion is a little biased because I reside In Delhi (which is in the North) and people in eastern India may have heard of it. It is named after McCluskie , an Anglo-Indian who wanted to establish a separate homeland for the Anglo-Indian community at the site which was originally called Lapra.It was an ambitious plan (‘the most historical move of the community, fighting for its very existence and solving its own salvation in its darkest hour’). However it failed miserably and the town lies in ruins now. In tracing the history of MaCuskiegunge, Ian in fact is tracing the history of the Anglo-Indian community and the sad state in which they find themselves. What went wrong?  Read this most interesting book and find out. Inspite of being a Britisher, Ian writes dispassionately and I look forward to read the remaining parts of the book.

 

Bad Cops

I love graphic novels. More so, if they are rooted in non-fiction (Joe Sacco’s Palestine and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi top my list). The medium has exploded in the last decade world-wide. In India, we have had notable works by Vishwajyoti Ghosh (Delhi Calm) and Sarnath Banerjee (Corridor).

 In the graphic novel, Mumbai Confidential it is very difficult to separate fact from fiction. Based on the infamous encounter killings by cops in Bombay and the underworld-Bollywood nexus, a lot of incidents seem just out from the newspaper headlines. Obviously the writer (Saurav Mohapatra, who is now US based) and illustrator (Vivek Shinde, a Bombay based artist) have done a lot of research on the subject and it shows in the book, as Ron Marz also summarises in the foreword, ‘This story exists because Saurav, Vivek, and their collaborators are the only ones who could breathe such life into it’. The art work captures the city of Bombay very well and compliments the excellent story. This book can easily be our Road to Perdition**

In Mumbai Confidential, Inspector Arjun Kadam is an ex-encounter specialist whose life has taken a down turn after the death of his wife. His ex-boss ACP Vishnu Damle wants to rehabilitate him in the department. His ex-colleague, inspector Sunil Sawant, now virtually runs a parallel justice system based on extortions and ‘encounters’. While returning after meeting Damle one night, Arjun meets a young street urchin who tries to sell him flowers. Next instant they are run over by a speeding Ferrari. The girl does not survive. Arjun does somehow, and his plan to bring the culprit (who could be a Bollywood star) to justice sets of a chain of events which culminates in a shoot out on a stormy Bombay night. I don’t want to spoil the fun but do expect a lot of twists and turns as the story heads towards a bloody climax! There are also some interesting interludes at the end of the main story but I did not like the unnecessary dedication to Bollywood start Parveen Babi at the end of one of the interludes, ‘Full Moon’ which seemed a bit forced.

The book has been published by Archaia Entertainment (a US based niche publisher) and the production quality is excellent (hard cover with art paper inside). It is priced a bit steeply at 25 $ (available for Rs.1465 on www.u-read.com in India) and hence may put off some buyers in India. Maybe if they introduce a low cost paperback edition (and remove the interludes) for the India market, it would help.

The tag line of the title of the book reads as, Book One: Good Cop, Bad Cop. Eagerly looking forward to Book Two now.

Also note that the book is rated ‘M’ (for mature readers, 18 years and up) so if you have kids running around the house, take care!

 

**Well known graphic novel by Max Allan Collins based on organised crime in American Midwest, also adapted into a popular Hollywood film directed by Sam Mendes.

Mandrake's vanishing act

During my growing up years in the late 70s, I clearly remember looking forward to every Monday morning (not sure if it was weekly or fortnightly), for my copy of Indrajal comics, which used to come along with the morning newspaper. The comic would feature either Mandrake, the magician or Phantom (the ghost who walks) or our home grown hero, Bahadur. Not finding a new edition in the morning newspaper on Mondays used to be a big disappointment and the hawker was duly pulled up the next morning.

Each of these superheroes had its own unique characteristic but when I look back now, I feel that none of them received the recognition they so rightly deserved. The superhero genre has been monopolised by the two giants in the field - Marvel (Spiderman, Ironman, Hulk, Avengers etc) and Detective Comics, popularly known as DC (Batman, Superman, Flash, Justice League etc). With the advancement in computer generated special effects, blockbuster films of the superheroes have ensured that they stay very much alive and relevant for the new generation as well (Superman reboot- ‘Man of Steel’ was released last month). Their comics do not make much money now but along with the big budget movies (which keep coming in at regular intervals) the overall profitability is ensured.

I am sure that in today’s generation very few people would be aware of Phantom or Mandrake, the magician. (There was a movie on Phantom starring Billy Zane in 1996 but the disappointing performance at the box office ensured that the franchisee was not carried forward).  More than Phantom I feel sorry for Mandrake. Looking dapper in a blue/black suit and a magician’s cap (can you recollect any other superhero with a cap?), a red cape and thin moustaches, his stories had all the elements which could have been easily adapted to the big screen and would make for a thrilling view on the big screen. There were also several sub-plots which made the story absorbing. Mandrake’s strength was his quick hypnosis technique  (how awesome would that be to watch in 3 D) and from what I can recollect, his hi-tech residence (called Xanadu) was located on top of a hill and the road leading to it had several barriers which could be activated from the top to keep out his enemies. Mandrake lived with his girlfriend (wife?) Narda and his right-hand man, Lothar (dressed in a leopard skin) who possessed super human strength and accompanied Mandrake on all his adventures and fights against a variety of criminals. Their cook, Hojo (a stout man with oriental looks and a funny looking scooter) was also the head of a secret security agency. Cobra was Mandrake’s main enemy (also his half-brother). A mysterious criminal organisation called ‘8’ was often at the centre of several of Mandrake’s adventures.

Mandrake also had a twin brother, Derek (who looked exactly like him minus the thin moustaches) and who started misusing his magical powers for personal wealth and power. I vividly remember the edition in which Mandrake fights with his brother and removes his magical power using his superior mental prowess.

Created by Lee Falk (who also created Phantom later on) as a syndicated comic strip in 1934, the series was illustrated by Phil Davis.  It is said that Falk was inspired by the great magician, Houdini and the strip was sold to King features which turned it into an instant hit. At one time, it was being syndicated in more than 125 newspapers worldwide.

Falk started his career with the army and later turned to writing and directing plays. This helped him to work out the characters and setting in details which added so much depth to the stories. Falk died in 1999 in New York at the age of 87. I feel his achievement was no less than Stan Lee, the famous creator of the Marvel super heroes like Spiderman and Iron man. (Here is some trivia—Stan Lee makes a brief appearance in all Marvel studio productions...so next time you are watching a Marvel studio movie , look out for an old guy with moustaches and glasses in a blink-and-you-miss-appearance).

It is sad to see that due recognition has not come Lee Falk’s way and there is no one to carry forward the legacy of Mandrake and Phantom. If you look around, you may still find Phantom comics but Mandrake comics always draw a blank. Will any big Hollywood studio oblige us and bring the magic of Mandrake, the magician alive on the big screen?