Annada Munsi
Annada Munsi, also spelt Annada Munshi (Bengali: অন্নদা মুন্সী) (27 November 1905 – 14 January 1985), was an Indian painter, designer, calligrapher, draughtsman and a noted figure of modern advertising in India.[1] He is credited with demolishing British monopoly in the field of modern Indian advertising establishing Swadeshi culture instead.[2][3][4] He is considered the undisputable Father of Commercial Art in India.[5][6][7]
Annada Munsi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 27 November 1905 |
| Died | 14 January 1985 (aged 79) Paikpara, Kolkata |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater | Government College of Art and Craft, Calcutta |
| Known for | Painting and calligraphy |
| Notable work | Tea is 100% Swadeshi Tea Fights Fatigue Lord Gouranga Travels |
| Movement | Commercial art and modern Indian advertising |
| Spouse | Jayati Munshi |
| Children | 6 including Kumkum Munshi and Manto Munshi |
| Relatives | Pratip Munshi (cousin) Manu Munshi (brother) |
He was also an avid musician with prolific knowledge in playing multiple musical instruments like violin, piano, harmonium etc. along with knowledge in Indian and western classical music.[1][8][9]
Birth and education[edit]
Munshi was born in Shivnagar, Pabna of Bengal Presidency (present day in Bangladesh) to renowned artist Anukul Munshi and Pranmohoni Devi on 27 November in the year 1905. He completed his primary education from Chowgachha village followed by his higher education in Pabna where he got involved in the Indian independence movement with inspirations from Mahatma Gandhi's Nonviolent resistance. In 1930, he came to Calcutta to enrol himself into the then Government Art School (presently Government College of Art and Craft) under Percy Brown, renowned Art Historian. But, utmost financial crisis led him to drop out from the Art School and consequently start his career as a Shepherd Designer in the Army Navy Stores in Calcutta.[1][8][9]
Career[edit]
Munshi started his career at the Army Navy Stores in Calcutta as a Shepherd designer. Then he moved to Bombay (present day Mumbai) in 1935. There, he started working in the Times of India's advertising department. In addition to this employment, he used to sing Swadeshi Jagaran at Prabhat Ferry and also Rabindra Sangeet at Aakashvani's Bombay centre once a month. Along with being a skilled commercial artist, he also excelled in fine arts and sketching scenes for films. As a result of his success, he was appointed as a visualizer by the global advertising agency "DJ Keymer" and came back to Calcutta.
Here he mentored his the then assistant Satyajit Ray, along with O. C. Ganguly, Raghunath Goswami, Makhan Dutta Gupta and so on.[10][11][12] Here, he became especially well-known for his notable works in tea board (for example, Tea is 100% Swadeshi and Tea Fights Fatigue), and railway advertisings (for example, Lord Gouranga Travels). In 1948, again he was appointed as the Art Director of a Mumbai-based Advertising agency called Sisters' Limited and relocated in Mumbai. He retired as the Art Director of Publicity Forum in Kolkata where he mentored noted commercial artists like Ranen Ayan Dutt and Ahibhusan Malik.[13][14]
Notable works in advertising[edit]
Some of Munshi's notable works are:
- Tea is 100% Swadeshi (1947) where he demolished the British monopoly in the Indian advertising industry and established Swadeshi culture instead.[15][16]
Tea is 100% Swadeshi by Munshi - Tea Fights Fatigue (1948)[1]
Tea Fights Fatigue by Munshi - Lord Gouranga Travels[1][8]
Style of painting[edit]
Munshi also invented the technique of using rubber solution in his paintings along with various colour combinations. The principal characteristics of his paintings were simplicity and brightness which even grabbed the attention of Pablo Picasso, renowned Spanish painter and sculptor. Some of his paintings acquired place within personal collections of Pandit Ravi Shankar and Yehudi Menuhin.[1][8]
Literary works[edit]
In 1978, the book named Crucified India (in Bengali accent: Krushbiddha Bharat) authored by Munshi, which was dedicated to his junior and colleague Satyajit Ray, was published.[1][8]
Gallery[edit]
-
1985 Peace Year poster by Munshi depicting Jesus Christ -
Painting with calligraphy by Munshi -
A work by Munshi -
Munshi having an interaction with Pandit Ravi Shankar, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Nikhil Sarkar and Bhudeb Shankar
Death[edit]
Munshi died at the age of 79 on 14 January 1985 at Paikpara, Kolkata, India.[1][9]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Santanu Ghosh: মুন্সিয়ানায় চল্লিশ পুরুষ (in Bengali)">Santanu Ghosh. "Munshianay Chollis Purush" Publisher: Dey's Publishing
- ^ Amitav Ghosh. "Steeped in War and Erasure: Amitav Ghosh on How Tea Funded the British Empire’s Expansion". publisher: LITERARY HUB
- ^ Vikram Doctor. "Tea right choice. publisher: The Economic Times
- ^ Staff Reporter. "From imperial product to national drink – Exhibition traces the origin and heritage of tea in India". publisher: The Telegraph (India)
- ^ "Annada Munshi". publisher: Arthive
- ^ "Swede sound of Tagore". publisher: The Telegraph (India)
- ^ "Annada Munshi". publisher: Genealogy
- ^ a b c d e "Santanu Ghosh: Binodane Paikpara Belgachia">শান্তনু ঘোষ। "বিনোদনে পাইকপাড়া বেলগাছিয়া (in Bengali)" publisher: দে'স পাবলিশিং
- ^ a b c "সংসদ">সুবোধ সেনগুপ্ত ও অঞ্জলি বসু সম্পাদিত, সংসদ বাঙালি চরিতাভিধান, প্রথম খণ্ড, সাহিত্য সংসদ, কলকাতা, আগস্ট ২০১৬, পৃষ্ঠা ৮০৮ (in Bengali) ISBN 978-81-7955-135-6
- ^ Pinaki De, An AD-mi-RAY-ble vision: Revisiting Satyajit Ray's foray into the advertising industry
- ^ Supriya Nair, The master's eye
- ^ Bedatri D. Choudhury, The Visual Language of Satyajit Ray
- ^ RANEN AYAN DUTT, A PERISCOPIC JOURNEY THROUGH SEVEN DECADES
- ^ Anisha Datta, Through the eyes of an artist: consumption ethos and commercial art in Bengal
- ^ "Tea is 100% Swadeshi, 1947" Publisher: Lafayette College
- ^ "Making tea in India: Chai, capitalism, culture" Publisher: Philip Lutgendorf
External links[edit]
