True Lies

The people in Lie: A Traditional Tale of Modern India are small,colourful and not nice to know. Architect and author Gautam Bhatia’s latest book is a graphic novel,a deeply disturbing book that talks about the rampant corruption in the country,female infanticide and government apathy. “The book attempts to satirise the current state of the country,from the last 30-40 years to the present day. The narrative has magnified the misdeeds of a corrupt government and its leaders. It is an exaggerated view of people driven to grotesque levels of greed and indulging in heinous acts of depravity and barbarism. If their lives are a lie,so is this story,” says Bhatia. “The idea was to begin exaggerating the situation to an extent where one can laugh and cry,but the discomfort will linger,” adds Bhatia,58,who began working on the book in 2008.

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 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 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 a crafts fair in Dilli Haat. “They work in small villages outside Udaipur and have mainly worked on stories retelling the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. This was a completely new project for them too,” says Bhatia who wrote the text and drew the blueprint of the book.

The artwork is detailed in terms of design and colour. Unlike other graphic novels,Lie is text heavy and Bhatia and the three miniaturists have maintained 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 adds,lends itself to a graphic novel rather easily. “Much can be accommodated 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 artwork from the project will take place at Alliance Francaise on March 26.