Character Sketch

It’s a well known fact that such concentration camps were the scene of despicable deprivation. Old women begged for watery soup and dug for food in garbage heaps rotting in the courtyard of the barracks. Elderly men were transformed into scavengers and beggars.Therefore,it’s ironical that a cookbook with recipes of luxuriant chocolate cakes and exquisite desserts emerged out of such a world. But Minna Pachter,a native of Prague had resolutely put together this handwritten manuscript,using recipes gathered from other prisoners. In Memory’s Kitchen: A Legacy From the Women of Terezín. was published in book form in the United States more than a decade ago. But that was not the end of this amazing story.

In 2005,French illustrator and writer,Elsie Herberstein along with documentary filmmaker Anne Georget,produced a 45-minute documentary video “Les Recettes de Mina,Terezin 1944”,which according to Herberstein was not a success. Which is why in 2008,Elsie put together an illustrated accompanying book “Les Carnets de Minna”.

It’s a book so poetic in its visual flow that one can’t help being taken in by it,even though most of the text is in French. “That is what we are meant to do—to capture the humanity of a person,or of a story. Minna Pachter’s cook book is not just a compilation of recipes. It’s a celebration of life in the bleakest of surroundings. I wanted that to shine through in my book,” says the author/illustrator who was in the city as part of the ongoing Bonjour India Festival.

Damien Roudeau,who works in collaboration with Herberstein,agrees. “When I sit down to sketch a person I try and connect with him or her on some level or the other. It has to be a collaborative effort. If I don’t connect with him or her as a person,the creative process will not mean anything,” says Roudeau who calls himself a “graphic reporter”. Like Herberstein,Roudeau too finds himself fascinated with fringe realities. “My projects have required me to document drug peddlers,prostitutes and other so-called outlaws. I am supposed to write animated reports on them. But my effort is to project them as personalities and not stock figures,” claims Roudeau. Be it a rave party in Paris or a youth rehabilitation camp in Roudeau needs to acquaint himself with his surroundings before embarking on a project. “I have decided to surrender to India though. I will let this amazing country dictate terms,” winks Roudeau.