One of the books that were released at the recent Valley of Words International Festival of Arts and Literature in the Doon valley was What a Life! A Kaleidoscope of Rajinder Puri’s Cartoons published by Niyogi Books .
This interesting book has been done jointly by Doon –based author Arvindar Singh and Delhi-based filmmaker, critic and journalist Partha Chatterjee. It has some text but consists mostly of Puri’s cartoons with captions done by Arvindar Singh. The work contains Puri’s cartoons from the 1960s to 2010. Rajinder Puri’s cartoons appeared in The Manchester Guardian and The Glasgow Herald in the UK (1957 -59). He was the staff cartoonist for the Hindustan Times (1959-65) and The Statesman (1969-70). He also drew cartoons for publications as diverse as The Indian Express, The Hindu, The Illustrated Weekly of India and Outlook. His published works include India 1969: A Crisis of Conscience (1971); India: the Wasted Years (1975) ; Government That Works and How ! (1989); Recovery of India (1992) ;Bull’s Eye (2004) and A tale of Two Countries : Chronicles of a Columnist (2008).
In the collection, Singh and Chatterjee have put together some of the best political cartoons since independence by Puri. Used as a vehicle for spreading public awareness on the burning issue of the day, these cartoons give us a glimpse of Puri’s virtuosity as a columnist, “fearless writer and activist.”
“No matter how controversial some of his cartoons seem, his vision of the society, politics and life will continue to play an important role in contemporary culture,” says Arvindar Singh.
He says that drawing or writing, Rajinder Puri was his own man; not always the fire and brimstone preacher but also capable of laughing and making others laugh just for the pleasure of it.
Puri was 22 when he finished his Master in history from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University. He had already begun to reveal a talent for satirical drawing and writing. It was a matter of time before he plunged into a full-time career as a cartoonist and journalist. He had also met the dynamic socialist, Ram Manohar Lohia, whose thoughts were to remain with the aspiring cartoonist for the rest of his life. He was a lifelong debunker of so-called high culture, which for him had its roots in inexplicable snobbery. He learned the ropes of his profession when in England, working with The Manchester Guardian and also the Glasgow Herald.
Says Arvindar Singh, “Till the very end, Puri continued to crusade for social and political justice for everyone “.
The collection has been brought out finely by Niyogi Books and gives a wide perspective of social, political and economic issues that the country has been through down the decades.
Arvindar Singh is a writer and entrepreneur, His works include a biography of former prime minister Morarji Desai and an anthology of writings titled Myths and Realities of Security and Public Affairs. He has also been associated with Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and is on the management committee of the Dehradun Kendra of this institution.