We rarely do collages for our lead image but this one is a reminder of how free India can be. On the left is ‘Love Locked Out’ by nineteenth century painter Anna Lea Merritt. Right beside it is cartoonist Shankar Pillai’s witty twist that shows Jawaharlal Nehru doing his best to persuade the United Nations to admit China as a member.
Nehru’s response to the cartoon:
[W]ithout the least bit of malice or ill will he (Shankar) points out, with an artist’s skill, the weaknesses and foibles of those who display themselves on the public stage. That is a service to all of us for which we should be grateful. For we are apt to grow pompous and self-centred, and it is good to have the veil of our conceit torn occasionally.
Happy free expression day:) The Heritage Lab has more of Shankar’s iconic cartoons of Jawaharlal Nehru.
SANITY BREAK August 8 2023
Do you know 20-year-old Hataałiinez Wheeler a.k.a Hataałi? He is a fab Navajo singer who has been declared the breakout artist of the year.
SANITY BREAK August 9 2023
Supriya Dam’s brilliant photograph of a tigress and her growing cub should be good enough to get you through hump day.
