True Lies

Lie (Tranquebar,Rs 395) is strung together by several protagonists: Alibaba,a landed labourer who burns his house down when his landlord’s friends come to rape his wife and daughters,Sati Mishra,a business tycoon whose millions come from his adulterated food business,his son Rocky (later politician Bhola Mishra) and his wife Reena,whose inability to deliver a male heir to the empire serves her badly. There are other politicians,such as the Prime Minister Rekha,a former sex worker and supposed ISI agent with a Mrs G hairstyle,and a police force that rapes minors as easily as they watch television. The book has been illustrated by Shankar Lal Bhopa,Birju Lal Bhopa and Ghansham,three Rajashthani miniaturists who Bhatia chanced upon at the crafts fair at Dilli Haat. “They work in small villages outside Udaipur and have primarily worked on stories retelling the Ramayana and the Mahabharat. This was a completely new project for them too,” says Bhatia who wrote the text and drew out the blueprint of the book.

The artwork is detailed in terms of design and colour. Unlike other graphic novels of the day,Lie is text heavy and Bhatia and the three miniaturists have mastered a fine balance between telling the story through words and images. “With the subject matter that we were dealing with,one of the reasons behind creating a graphic novel is to have maximum impact. One cannot get away from an image,it will stay in the mind longer than words,” says Bhatia. The Rajasthani miniature style,he says,lends itself to a graphic novel rather easily. “Much can be accomodated into a panel,it serves the purpose of the narrative by being able to create a contrast within a page,” says Bhatia.

The book is a part of Desh Ki Awaz: A Colloborative Arts project that is supported by the Ford Foundation. An exhibition featuring the art work from the project will take place at New Delhi’s branch of Alliance Francaise on March 26.