AN ARTISTIC DUET

An exhibition in Santiniketan showcases the illustrations of Jatin Sen that brought the works of the great Bengali satirist Parashuram to life

- Soumitra Das

Just as 'Phiz'Hablot Knight Browne-was to Charles Dickens and John Tenniel to Lewis Carroll, so was illustrator Jatindra Kumar Sen (18821966) to Rajshekhar Basu (1880-1960), the chemist, author and lexicographer, considered the sharpest humorist and satirist in Bengali literature. Both writer and illustrator had pseudonyms-Parashuram and Narad, respectively.

Like a laser beam, Basu's wit vaporised window-dressing and exposed societal hypocrisy. He held to ridicule human follies at a time when society was changing radically, Bengalis and middle-class were coming out of their shell to confront their white masters. Women rarely visible till then-were gradually becoming a formidable presence in public life, and that had an unsettling effect. Basu was unsparing in his attacks, and none escaped his jabs aimed alike at contemporary Bengali society, self-styled godmen, their followers and corrupt businessmen. He rewrote Hindu myths and gave a droll twist to tales derived from canonical texts.