Open Access Global Journal of Arts and Social Sciences Volume 2 Issue 1 ISSN: 2694-3832 Review Article Twentieth Century Bengali Society through Gaganendranath Tagore’s Cartoons Mondal D* English Literature, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, West-Bengal, India Article Info Abstract Article History: Gaganendranath Tagore is known as the first cartoonist in early twentieth century colonial India. His Received: 05 May, 2020 cartoons were markedly different from the ones that preceded him. He brought about a distinct Accepted: 07 May, 2020 modernity with his play of light and shade, depth and volume in his cartoons, something that is Published: 12 May, 2020 comparable with the trends that were popular in Europe then. This is not all. To give a professional edge *Corresponding author: Mondal D, to his cartoons, Gaganendranath started using the lithograph for printing them. Inspired by this trend of M.A., English Literature, Visva- printing them. This genre of drawing has not been highlighted enough, though they have been Bharati University, Santiniketan, instrumental in creating political rhetoric for long. However, the works by Gaganendranath were West-Bengal, India; DOI: neglected. May be for he was ahead of his time, his works were mostly experimental. He took up https://doi.org/10.36266/GJASS/120 caricature to satirize the westernized middle class of urban Bengal. The rise of nationalist sentiment and Swadeshi movement had also influenced his cartoons. This paper will try to look back and analyze the social condition of Bengal through Gaganendranath’s caricatures. Keywords: Caricature; Babu; Satire; Art Copyright: © 2020 Mondal D. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. However, Punch was replete with cartoons created to counter this. Introduction In 1874, when the two cartoon magazines- Harbola Bhand and There was a rise of the Nationalist sentiment in the late 19th Basantak- were published, they were popularly touted as the century and the early 20th century especially with the Swadeshi Indian Punch. This time the cartoons were all made from woodcut movement aimed to overthrow the colonizers and the colonial blocks and were heavily inspired by the drawing style of Bat-tala influence [1-6]. It was also seen in the efforts to preserve Indian and Kalighat. The style was later modernized by Gaganendranath art. Art in Bengal began with the growth of the Kalighat paintings Tagore, whose cartoons came out from 1917 onwards in three in the 19th century [7-9]. The artists were known as patuas who books that he published- Naba Hullor, Adbhutlok and Birup painted on scrolls and they mainly concentrated on religious Bajra. The title Adbhut Lok (Absurd People/ Absurd World) themes. These artists were displaced because of lack of patronage underlines Gaganendranath’s satiric attack on the unscrupulous and majority of them became a part of the Company painters and materialistic standards of the middle and upper class babus whose patrons were the British. This shift was due to the colonial and rich Brahmins who represent the absurdity of the social influence since the colonizers wanted the Indian style of paintings system which is based on arbitrary hierarchy. These portfolios are to reflect the perspective of the colonizers in glorifying the West very rare. They were published at modest prices and were quickly [10-12]. The Bat-tala press in the 1860s and 1870s tried to got lost in the limbo of Bengal’s memories of old times. counter the colonial influence by forming their own publication Gaganendranath Tagore (1867-1938) was a satirical cartoonist which lampooned the colonial officials and their Indian allies. and painter. Born in Calcutta, Gaganendranath grew up in a The hypocrisy of the degenerated Babus was one of their major family whose exceptional creativity spearheaded Calcutta’s themes. A distinct class in Bengal, born out of subservience to the cultural scene. His paintings are divided into five phases. The first British Raj, the Bengali babu was admired for his fortune and phase (1905-1911) consisted of scenes from Calcutta, Puri mocked for his debauched lifestyle. Dandies they were. When a landscpes and portraits. The second phase (1911-1915) also cartoon appeared in a Bengali newspaper in 1872 making fun of known as Chaitanya series, related to paintings of the spiritual how the British trained their Bengali bureaucrats, there was quite teacher Chaitanya and his devotees, this phase also included an uproar. This new art form exited contemporary artists so much paintings of pilgrims. The third phase (1915-1921), also known as that by 1874, two cartoon magazines started getting published Vichitra Period consisted of most of his caricatures and the from Bengal. They made fun of almost every accepted socio- Himalayan paintings. The fourth phase (1921-1925) consisted of political norm-be it the Calcutta Corporation, the police his cubist experiments. The last phase (1925-1930) consisted of administration, the Brahmo Samaj or the Bengali babudom. The post-cubist paintings. I will be focusing on the third phase of his British magazine of satire and humour, Punch, which started paintings which represents his caricatures. Although creating waves across the colonial world through the 1850sand Gaganendranath was anti-colonial, he was open to Western 60s, supposed to have inspired Bengali cartoons (Figures 1-3). influences [13-15]. The artist received no formal education but Pubtexto Publishers | www.pubtexto.com 1 Global J Arts Social Sci Citation: Mondal D (2020). Twentieth Century Bengali Society through Gaganendranath Tagore’s Cartoons. Global J Arts Social Sci 2(1): 120 DOI: https://doi.org/10.36266/GJASS/120 was trained under the British school water colourist Harinarayan Namaskar with both palms while a newly hatched chick Bandopadhyay. In 1907, he founded the Indian Society of (forbidden to Hindu vegeterians) pokes out of his pocket, the Oriental Art with his brother Abanindranath Tagore. Between other raises sola hat to the deity, while holding a cigarette. So, 1906 and 1910, the artist assimilated the Japanese brush technique here a hybrid class of Bengali society has been represented who and Far Eastern pictorial conventions into his own work. From are really confused among their own culture and a completely 1910 until 1914, Gaganendranath developed his own approach foreign culture. with black ink. Between 1915 and 1919, the artist, with the help of his brother, set up the Bichitra club in the Tagore family house. Figure 2: Confusion with Ideas (1917). Figure 1: Purification by Cow dung (1917). The club served as an important social, intellectual and artistic hub of cultural life in Calcutta, where many artists, including Nandalal Bose, A.K Haldar and Suren Kar worked at their paintings. However, in this series of caricatures, the artist wanted to highlight the nature of society in India at a time when the struggle for Indian Independence from British rule was just beginning. He wanted to expose the hypocrisy of the Hindu priesthood as well as the rich westernized Indians who had lost sight of the value of their own culture. In his 1917 creation Purification by Cow dung, a Hindu priest with sandalwood paste markings on his body is seen sprinkling muddy holy water on Figure 3: Nuisance of a Wife. three women even as he holds a sack of money in his right hand. Now I shall try to look at the condition of traditional Bengali The sack is mischievously titled Tanka Devi (currency goddess. It women and Westernized Bengali women through is certain that Tagore is showing the greed of the Brahminical Gaganendranath’s cartoons. In the caricature, Nuisance of a Wife hierarchy, or the easy vulnerability of believers. A hundred years (from Adbhut Lok), we see a middle-aged man (possibly a babu since these cartoons by Gaganendranath, we are exactly where we figure because of his bulky proportions), traditionally attired in were. His arts are of high quality, enriched with historicity, and dhoti and kurta, walking ahead of his wife. She uses both her timelessness of their themes. In the other caricature, titled as hands to carry the burdensome luggage as well as her child who is Confusion of Ideas highlights the hypocrisy of the westernized crying. Although she is lagging behind, the husband doesn’t seem Indian businessmen or babu who visit a temple to pay their to show any sympathy by turning around or offering to help her. respects to the gods. They are dressed in western suits and hats. At a distance, we see an anglicized babu, wearing an English The term, babu was originally one of respect, but became a attire of trousers, hat and coat, with his well-dressed wife, derogatory term in the early 20th century and referred to those wearing jewellery and blouse along with her sari. The daughter is native Indians who were attempting to be more modern and dressed in a frock and is wearing shoes. Together, they stare at the westernized. In this caricature, one babu makes the traditional traditionally dressed family passing by. The picture gives a Pubtexto Publishers | www.pubtexto.com 2 Global J Arts Social Sci Citation: Mondal D (2020). Twentieth Century Bengali Society through Gaganendranath Tagore’s Cartoons. Global J Arts Social Sci 2(1): 120 DOI: https://doi.org/10.36266/GJASS/120 contrasting image of the two families. In the first family, the 11. Ratan P. Gaganendranath Tagore. National gallery of modern art. image of the husband, possibly from the upper class, with a stick 12. Ratan P Art of Three Tagore’s: From Revival to Modernity. 2011; in his hand shows that he is a leader and in complete control of 557.