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Journalism of Courage
Trina Laharis book showcases shadow puppets as an art form
I was always interested in woodcuts by Bengal masters like Haren Das and Satyajit Ray as a child. My dad was a cartoonist,but I didnt want to follow in his footsteps or live in his shadow,which is why I decided to learn paper cutting from my uncle. At family get-togethers,we would have shadow puppet shows, says
38-year-old,Kolkata-based,Trina Lahari,whose book of short stories titled Undulating Oratories recently hit the stands. One of the stories
Eyes that Lie is being made into a film by a Swedish filmmaker.
She began to pursue art seriously in 1995-96. I used to bunk class and work on large canvases,as paper cutting is a very time consuming art form, says Lahari,who begins by sketching out the drawing. This is followed by marking out the portions as positive and negative spaces,scanning the image,colouring the black areas in Photoshop and finally cutting out the dark shadows from the print out. The final work is mounted against a white paper. Her works have been showcased at UNESCO and in galleries in Poland and China. People who come to learn this art from me treat it as a craft,like many other things are treated as a craft and that is a bit upsetting, says Lahari ,who often works for 24 hours for two days at a stretch to complete a work.
Passion drives me, she adds. Her work has found appreciation in China,which is the motherland of origami art. She is also inspired by Hans Christian Anderson. I was part of a memorial show in his name that focussed on stories for children. I did illustrations for fairytales like The Birth Story and Getting a Friend, says Lahari,whose works are priced modestly between Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000. I dont have the desire to ask for crores. My art is very patron-driven, she concludes.
