Google pays tribute to Mario Miranda, celebrating 90
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 02 May 2016 08:44 IST
Google celebrates today Goa’s internationally renowned cartoonist late Mario Miranda, on the occasion of his 90th birth anniversary.
Today’s Google doodle features Mario’s one of the famous illustration, a rainy street.
On the other hand, Goa, his home state, is celebrating his birth anniversary by holding biggest exhibition of his cartoon books at Gitanjali gallery in Panaji.
A Pocketful of Chuckles, the exhibition, includes 60 pocket cartoons and 14 bigger drawings taken from the renowned cartoonist's archive of editorial art that has been published in The Illustrated Weekly and The Economic Times among other publication.
On the occasion, 'The Life of Mario 1949', a 288-page third diary of his cartoons in the series was published by architect Gerard D’Cunha.
The book documents Mario's caricatures in 1950-51 as a 23-year-old when studying at St Xavier's College in Mumbai and in between watching films and sabbaticals to Goa and Daman.
Mario’s five-decade-long career was a treat for the people with mixed humour of finance and politics but largely related to common man’s life with amazing observations and minute details of human lifestyle.
He is one of the few Indian artists, who is honoured with Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and posthumously, the Padma Vibhushan.
D’Cunha says more diaries of Mario of 1946 and 1947 are in pipeline.
Born on 2nd May 1926 in Daman in Portuguese India to Goan Catholic parents, he was also proud of his ancestral rooting in Sardesai family, before the family was converted during Portuguese regime.
Spending his post-retirement life in his peaceful village of Loutolim in Goa, Mario died in his sleep on 11th December 2011.
CAREER PROFILE
Mario studied at St Joseph's Boys' High School in Bangalore and then did a BA in History at St. Xavier's College in Mumbai, while focusing on the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
Thereafter he started studying architecture at the behest of his parents, though he soon lost interest.
Mario never had any formal education of Art.
However, his talent was noticed and his friends encouraged him to make postcards and draw for them, which earned him extra pocket money.
Miranda started his career in an advertising studio, where he worked for four years, before taking up cartooning full-time.
He got his first break as a cartoonist with The Illustrated Weekly of India, which published a few of his works. His drawings & cartoons also brought him an offer to work at the Current magazine. A year later, the Times of India offered him a slot, even though they had rejected him at first.
Thereafter, his creations, such as Miss Nimbupani and Miss Fonseca, appeared on a regular basis in Femina, Economic Times, and The Illustrated Weekly of India.
Miranda was offered the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian Scholarship, which enabled him to travel to and stay a year in Portugal.
Mario has said Portugal helped him to broaden his horizons, after which he travelled to London, England and was to spend five years there, learning as well as doing jobs for newspapers and even worked in television animation, at Independent Television.
Miranda's cartoons were featured in the Lilliput, Mad (once), and Punch (twice) magazines. This supplemented his finances, and enabled him to travel around Europe, interacting with other cartoonists, gaining considerable knowledge and exposure.
This led to his meeting of Sir Ronald Searle, whom Miranda considered his mentor.
RECOGNITIONS
Mario’s big break came in 1974, when, at the invitation of the United States Information Services, he travelled to America, which enabled him to promote his art and interact with other cartoonists in the United States and also got a chance to work with Charles M. Schulz, the creator of Peanuts) and met Herblock, the editorial cartoonist of the Washington Post.
The King of Spain, Juan Carlos, conferred on Mario the highest civilian honour of "Cross of the Order of Isabel the Catholic" which was presented to him on 11th November 2009 at his family home in Loutolim by Don Miguel Nieto Sandoval.
On 29th December 2009, Portugal, under the President of the Republic Aníbal António Cavaco Silva, made him "Commander of the Order of Prince Henry", a Portuguese National Order of knighthood.
He has held solo exhibitions in over 22 countries, including the United States, Japan, Brazil, Australia, Singapore, France, Yugoslavia, and Portugal.
Miranda's cartoons grace the walls of one of South Mumbai's most famous hotspots, Cafe Mondegar, in Colaba.
Miranda is also featured in the "Mile Sur Mera Tumhara" video, which included a host of India's most notable personalities in arts, films, literature, music, and sports.
Miranda, who developed his an independent style of creating cartoons and characters, is remembered for his portrayal of the bustling cityscape of Mumbai, featuring complex, multi-layered scenes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjwvLzNCmMY