Annada Munsi
Annada Munshi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 27 November 1905 |
| Died | 14 January 1985 (aged 79) Paikpara, Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
| 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 | 8, including Bubu Eklund |
| Relatives | Manu Munshi (brother) |
Annada Munshi (Bengali: অন্নদা মুন্সী, often transliterated as Annada Munsi; 27 November 1905 – 14 January 1985) was an Indian painter, designer, calligrapher, draughtsman, musicologist, writer and a noted figure of modern advertising in India.[1][2] He is credited with demolishing British monopoly in the field of modern Indian advertising establishing Swadeshi culture instead.[3][4][5] He was widely recognized as the finest layout artist in the country during his era.[6] A pioneer of commercial design in India, he is considered as the undisputable Father of Commercial Art in India.[7][8][9][10][11]
Birth and education
[edit]Munshi was born in Shibnagar, Pabna of Bengal Presidency (present day in Bangladesh) to renowned artist Anukul Munshi and Pranmohini Devi in the Munshi family on 27 November, 1905. His grandfather Babu Banwari Charan Munshi was the zamindar of Chougachi. He was educated at Nakail Raicharan Institute and Pathartala Aryan Academy of Pabna.[12] While in Pabna, Munshi became involved in the Indian independence movement, influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s principles of Nonviolent resistance. Known for his singing ability, he used to perform Vande Mataram and Allāhu ʾAkbar in villages under the leadership of Indian National Congress leaders Prabhash Lahiri and Naresh Lahiri. He received training in mother-of-pearl art from his father, Anukul Munshi, at the Chougachi Mother-of-Pearl Factory, which his father had established.[12][13] He accompanied his father annually to sell mother-of-pearl artifacts at the Harihar Chhatrer Mela and at the Maidan in Calcutta.[12] According to Anandagopal Sengupta, Munshi was a childhood friend of Mohammad Ali Bogra, the third Prime Minister of Pakistan, as his father served as the Dewan to the Nawab of Bogra.[14] Later, he relocated to Calcutta to attend the Government Art School (now Government College of Art and Craft).[1][3]
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.[15][16][17] 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.[18][19]
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.[20][21]
- Tea Fights Fatigue (1948)[1]
- Lord Gouranga Travels[1][3]
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][3]
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][3]
Death
[edit]Munshi died at the age of 79 on 14 January 1985 at Paikpara, Kolkata, India.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g "Santanu Ghosh: মুন্সিয়ানায় চল্লিশ পুরুষ (in Bengali)">Ghosh, Santanu (2016). Santanu Ghosh: মুন্সিয়ানায় চল্লিশ পুরুষ (in Bengali). Kolkata: Dey's Publishing. p. 65-67.
- ^ Das, Santi (1998). Satyajit Ray: An Intimate Master. Allied. p. 8.
- ^ a b c d e Steeped in War and Erasure: Amitav Ghosh on How Tea Funded the British Empire’s Expansion, LITERARY HUB, 14 February 2024
- ^ Tea right choice, The Economic Times, 19 July 2006
- ^ From imperial product to national drink – Exhibition traces the origin and heritage of tea in India, The Telegraph (India), 12 December 2005
- ^ Ghosh, Dibyendu (1983). The Great Shankars. India Book House. p. 29.
- ^ Ghosh, Amitav (2024). Smoke and Ashes. HarperCollins Publishers India. p. 20.
- ^ "Annada Munshi". publisher: Arthive
- ^ Swede sound of Tagore, The Telegraph (India), 2 December 2015
- ^ Manek, Mira (18 April 2024). The Book of Chai: History, Stories and More Than 60 Recipes. Headline. ISBN 9781035402243.
- ^ Meet Annada Munshi: Mentor of Satyajit Ray and the Forgotten Father of Indian Commercial Art, Local Samosa, 6 May 2025
- ^ a b c Majumdar, Kaushik. কুড়িয়ে বাড়িয়ে. Kolkata: Sristisukh Prokashan. p. 171. ISBN 9789388887526.
- ^ Art in Industry. Kolkata: Indian Institute of Art in Industry. p. 82.
- ^ "আমি ও ঘোড়া করো ভগবান (একুশ নম্বর পর্ব, in Bengali) : Anandagopal Sengupta". Page Four News. 18 October 2023.
- ^ 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
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