Prafullachandra Lahiri

Prafullachandra lahiri
Prafullachandra lahiri
Born	8 November, 1900; Dhaka, Bengal Presidency, British Raj (now in Bangladesh)
Died	27 October, 1975 (aged 74); Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Nationality	Indian
Children	1, Rajat Shekar Lahiri

Prafullachandra Lahiri (8 November 1900 - 26 October 1975) was a Bengali cartoonist better known as Kafi Khan or PCIEL. He was a worthy successor of Gaganendranath Tagore, a pioneer in Bengali cartoons. He was the first editorial cartoonist in Bengal.

Search Prafullachandra Lahiri on Amazon.

Early Life

Prafulla Chandra Lahiri was born at his maternal uncle's house in Dhaka, present day Bangladesh, British India. His father's name is Fanindranath Lahiri. As a child he was good at studies. He passed MA in first class as a history student. He also won prizes in class for handwriting, drawing and painting. Ramsbotham, a foreign professor, wrote after seeing his painted map in the history examination at Dhaka College -

"This is the finest map I have ever seen drawn by a student.”

He even liked the map he drew so much that he took it home and left it on the mantlepiece of his hall.

Career

After completing his MA in History, he started his career teaching history and civics at Feni College. He was also involved in the cultural programs of the college. He used to play the violin well. He practiced Indian art and Muslim classical music. Besides, drawing work was also going on. While teaching, his first cartoon started appearing in Shanibarer Chithi under the pseudonym Pra-cha-la. Editor Sajanikanta Das had already noticed his talent. At his request and on the advice of his college colleague Gopal Haldar, Prafulla Chandra moved to Calcutta in February 1933. Jatindra Mohan Sengupta's 'Advance' paper published a caricature of the then Shyama Haque on the cabinet meeting on November 11 of that year, under the pseudonym Diogenes and has been regularly published in this magazine. He joined the Amritbazar newspaper in 1934 and drew a strip cartoon of the strange character 'Khuro' under the pseudonym 'Piciel' (PCL). For almost three decades since 1937, the Amrita Bazar Patrika has been peeking out every Tuesday about the daily fun inconsistencies in the life of his son-in-law, the mustache-wielding old man - 'Khuro'. When Jugantar was launched in 1936, he started drawing strip cartoons and political cartoons of 'Sheyal Pandit' under the pseudonym 'Kafi Khan', the names of the famous councilors of Emperor Akbar. Two unforgettable comic-strip characters like 'Khuro' and 'Sheyal Pandit' gave him fame. Later, every Sunday, he drew sketches on Ramayana and Mahabharata, old sayings and instructive subjects. He had no equal in creating a fun and weird atmosphere by inserting the events and characters of the two epics. Some of his notable illustrations are:

Masterbabu
Trollybabu
Rickshawala
Mahabharater Kotha
Sobjanta Raja
Bhimer Golpo
Khumbakarner Kando
Mahabharater Banparbo
Dui Bokar Golpo

During this time he also worked regularly for various media outlets. Cigarettes, head oil, powdered spices, countless other products for which he has drawn cartoons. He was the first to use cartoons in advertisements in the country. The caption 'You don't know what you're losing' with various cartoons in 'Caesars' cigarette advertisements became a proverb in Bengali at that time. He painted the skyline of Kolkata at Birla Planetarium, Kolkata. Editorial Cartoonist Prafulla Chandra Lahiri visited the United States of America as a State Representative in the State Department Exchange Program. His destinations were Harvard, Boston, Yale and Honolulu Universities. There he participated in various discussions and exchange of views. He became familiar with different cartoonists. He went to Disneyland and was fascinated. After returning from America, he used to send cartoons to many newspapers and magazines there. Shishu Sahitya Sangsad published his moving picture - 'Coffescope'

Subash-Alochho
Dadhichir Sathi'
Satyer Sandhane

Death

Prafulla Chandra Lahiri passed away on 26th October 1975 at the age of 74 years.

References

External Links

This article "Prafullachandra Lahiri" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Prafullachandra Lahiri. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.