Mario, once more with feeling 24 Aug 2008, 0623 hrs IST,TNN Mumbai: Book launches in Mumbai with their set pieces and Q&A sessions can be tiresome affairs, but not when the book concerns a man as well loved as Mario Miranda.
Handsomely bound and lushly illustrated, this thick book-simply called Mario de Miranda-is a labour of love executed by Gerard da Cunha, the Goan architect, who made it his mission to track down as many Miranda cartoons and drawings as possible and include them either between the covers of this book or preserve them in a hefty archive. "I present Mario to the world,'' writes da Cunha in his publisher's note, with the flourish of a magician sweeping off his hat. And indeed, the book takes the reader on a delightful global romp, as cartoon after cartoon forces an involuntary laugh. There is Goa, Busybee , Macau, Nissim Ezekiel, Dom Moraes, Germany in Wintertime, The Times Group and more Goa-this is a life well travelled and well befriended , and this a gift that, to quote from Ranjit Hoskote's essay in the book, "far transcends the deadline-driven , wit-on-tap , demand-and-supply logic of editorial art'' . In a dark shirt that set off his smoothly swept back grey hair and pale complexion, the 82-year-old cartoonist seemed frailer and more reticent than ever. It was therefore an especially emotional occasion for his fiercely protective circle of friends, most of whom had showed up at the Oxford Bookstore , despite the launch coinciding with a Kishori Amonkar concert at the NCPA. Mario acknowledged this deftly, "I am extremely happy to be back in Bombay and see so many familiar faces. I know that there are lots of people who want to go off for some concert or the other, so I won't waste your time. See you'll . I miss Bombay, I may even come back some day.'' Something to wish for, but those who have seen Mario and Habiba Miranda ensconced in their 300-year-old pile at Casa dos Mirandas in Loutolim, Goa, (" a dog's bark from the church'' , to quote Manohar Malgonkar) know that a shift is unlikely in the near future. Former curator of the National Gallery of Modern Art in Mumbai, Sarayu Doshi, recalled what a hit an exhibition of Mario's cartoons at the NGMA had been; heritage writer Sharada Dwivedi spoke of his kindness to a group of children, each of whom he drew a little cartoon for, thus sending them into raptures; Sylvester da Cunha reiterated that Mario had placed Goa before the world through his charming caricatures of padre, cat and fisherwomen, capturing the lilt and scent of the red soil and the easy bustle of the village; Jitendra Bhargava of Air India once again plumped for a Mario Museum-a project close to his heart and one that he never loses a chance to advocate. There were many old friends who spoke from the heart but it was left to the architect, Charles Correa, to make the most astute intellectual observation and to Mario's old friend Gerson da Cunha, the most piquant. Correa, who was on the dais with Mario and Sangita Jindal (whose Art India has published the book), said while everyone always comments on how funny Mario's cartoons are, few make a mention of his incredible draughtsmanship . "The drawings of Leonardo da Vinci were called cartoons,'' said Correa. "Cartoons are not just funny, but indicate a highly skilled grasp of personality, identity and place. And that's what we get from Mario's cartoons.'' Gerson da Cunha spoke for many when he said, "This is a book of a Goa that is over. Mario's work is a snapshot of a twilight. I cannot see that way of life coming back. I do not mean to sound like a requiem , but we needed a Mario to capture that moment. Thank you Mario for being the kind of person you are. Anything we can do to make you want to come back to Mumbai, just click your fingers.'' Writer Anil Dharker recounted how Mario had drawn cartoons of sportspersons for the Bombay Gymkhana's magazine-of Nadia Hunterwaali and Wilson Jones-all of which are still framed at the Gym (too bad Mario didn't do one of Dharker in his shorts playing tennis). He said that only too often he (AD) arrived late for their meetings, leading him to apologise profusely to Mario, who, unflappable as ever would reply, "Why are you sorry? I spent the time looking at people.'' A life spent in observation, whose dividends have brought joy to thousands in the form of Miss Fonseca, Bundaldass and Miss Nimbupani. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/Mario_once_more_with_feeling_/articleshow/3398251.cms