Lounge Preview | Mario Miranda Cartoon Festival Intolerance is the theme of a Mario Miranda commemoration event
Drawing the line Intolerant chief ministers who throw cartoonists into jail have become the norm rather than the exception. The attack on humour because of an increasing lack of humour in public life is the leitmotif behind the Sunaparanta Mario Miranda Cartoon Festival, at the Sunaparanta-Goa Centre for the Arts in Panaji on 4-5 May. Miranda, one of India's most celebrated cartoonists, died on 11 December 2011. The event has been organized by Anil Dharker, columnist and founder of the annual Literature Live! festival in Mumbai, along with Dattaraj Salgaocar, businessman and chairperson of the arts centre. On the agenda are a lecture on "Lack of Humour in Public Life" by former Outlook editor Vinod Mehta, panel discussions on such questions as "Can Cartooning Be Elevated to the Position of Art?", and a Goan tiatr, or traditional musical theatre, performed in the Konkani language by Prince Jacob. A selection of Miranda's works will be displayed, as well as old and new pieces of satire and commentary by newspaper cartoonists E.P. Unny (The Indian Express), Ravi Shankar (The New Indian Express), Hemant Morparia (Mumbai Mirror), and Keshav (The Hindu). "It's not just about cartoons-we're also talking about the lack of humour in public life," says Dharker. The event will also draw attention to the art of political cartooning which, says Unny, is nearly as old as cinema. "We have never used the cartoon to advertise the fact that we are a functioning democracy," Unny says. Click here<http://www.sgcfa.org/index.php> for event details. http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/HQN9OWdD4HfzGCjPw5YkwK/Lounge-Preview--Mario-Miranda-Cartoon-Festival.html ~Avelino
