Comic Relief

The trainees are taught to first conceptualise a story based on an issue with a message,imagine characters,think of a catchy beginning and an end with impact. More over,they are encouraged to use A4 size or foolscap sheets,pencil and ink as use of colours would be costly and to use photo copies. Also,they are advised against pasting the comic illustrations on walls of buildings,billboards and private property.

“I have been across the nation and around the world,exhorting and training young people to use the comic style as a medium of self-expression as well as to address issues,” says self-taught Sharma,who freelanced for several newspapers in Delhi and served as a graphic artiste in Zee News before quitting the job and getting full-time into promoting his art.

“Along with a couple of friends,I taught unlettered villagers of Barhmer,Rajasthan to speak out against ills like female infanticide using the tool of graphics. The villagers learnt to make ‘wall papers’,which were pasted on walls or even tree trunks to convey news and views. In Assam,members of Assam Bodo Students Movement were so upbeat about my technique of mass communication,they passed it on to youth in other parts too,” he says.

He was identified by Ashoka,a US-based organisation that honours and aids ‘innovators for public’ and they ensured he toured to teach his art in Europe,Africa and South America besides in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. He is in the process of tying up with some universities in India to introduce comic art as a subject,for which he has the syllabus ready.

The Lucknow activity is being conducted by NGO Ummeed,in association with the UNICEF.

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