As a child, long before I was enamoured by the likes of Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys and Sweet Valley High, I existed on a steady diet of Archie comics. My ‘Double Digests’ binge was only interrupted when the latest issue of Target magazine arrived at home. I would always seek out the Gardhab Das and Detective Moochwala comics first, before turning my attention to the issue’s many other delights.Back then, I had little understanding of comics beyond the knowledge that the small squares provided a sharp and fleeting pleasure. As I grew up, the idea that comics were not serious reading was drilled into my head and I was forced to move on to other literary pastures. What an absolute shame.
Amruta Patil, curator, painter and graphic novelist
| Photo Credit:
Courtesy of MAP Bengaluru
Walking through the impeccably curated A Moving Line: 1,500 Years of Indian Visual Storytelling, a new exhibition at the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP) in Bengaluru, I am struck by how much I have missed out on. Curated by the painter and graphic novelist Amruta Patil, the exhibition traces India’s journey in visual storytelling across 15 centuries.
