Untitled und weitere Werke von Gaganendranath Tagore

Through his inimitable cartoons and caricatures, Gaganendranath consolidated his position in Bengal’s rich history of socio-political satire. Between 1915 and 1921, he produced three albums of cartoons, Adbhut Lok (Realm of the Absurd), Birup Bajra (Play of Opposites) and Naba Hullod (Reform Screams), which lampooned Bengali bhadraloks’ Western aspirations as well as Brahminical orthodoxy.

In the ‘University Machine,’ he launches a sharp critique of colonial education. Three-dimensional human beings enter the factory, built of stacked books that act as rollers, only to be churned out as two-dimensional puppets devoid of individuality. A mechanised system of learning denies any spaces for criticality or creativity, as students are prepared to serve in predetermined roles under the government. One can almost hear the tyrannical ticking of the factory clock, as they go about committing their lessons to rote memory.

From the collection of Ghare Baire, DAG. Copyright DAG Pvt Ltd.