Munna On the Run - Hemant Anant Jain
Wednesday, October 29, 2008Okay, here's a dose of genius, a bout of inspiration, a blog chokfull of talent. As I sit writing each post, sometimes lazy, sometimes inspired, I'm glad I have no clue who will read/is reading my posts. Because it helps me be non-selfconscious & just write whatever comes to my mind. And the other day I got a comment on one of my posts by one 'Munna on the run' and I wondered what went by this dubious sounding name. But the internet is instant and I found myself on the blogger profile which said the person works for 'Weiden + Kennedy', easily one of the most creative communication agencies in the world. I quickly revised my opinion & checked the blog. And what I read and saw in those posts had me thinking, humbled & inspired. What struck me about Hemant Anant Jain's work was how he is not desensitized by life and living. He is not cynical and has not reached a place where things are so dirty that he will not look at it. He has an opinion, and expresses it in words and pictures- hand-drawn, unvarnished and spontaneous. I LOVE it. I will not blab on. Do click on each illustration and read the copy that accompanies it. I promise you it will be worth the effort.
"How is it that anything Hindi is looked down upon in our own country? How is it that people like me write and speak better English than Hindi? How is it that most of us grow up reading English translation of our own epics?"
"In this follow-up to the 'Read, it helps" campaign we got a little bolder and more political. But first up was Madonna, who writing her children's book, feigned ignorance of Enid Blyton. Interesting Guardian article here. The other two were bold political posters taking a dig at two of amazingly stupid comments made by Indian leaders. If a healthcare minister underlines the importance of shamans, the country is seriously sick."
After months of research and going through hundreds of those, I finally got hold of 26 diagrams that looked liked the letters of the alphabet.
This poster literally transported me into a parallel universe.I sent this around to graphic designers I admired and got very interesting responses.
With no formal training in art, and nothing to show for except badly drawn doodles, I started believing that I could make art. Good, or bad. I could do it.
2005. Physics changed everything for me."And finally the piece that really did it for me. I LOVE anyone who writes like this about Bombay/ Mumbai whatever you call it. My city.
"You will get drunk on Amsterdam and dazzled in Paris and become a beggar in London and you will return, by accident, to Mumbai and you will get down from the plane and walk out of the airport all ready to hate it. You have seen the world, you have seen reason, you have walked the famous boulevards and those musty seats of the taxis will make you fall out of love and you will be free of Mumbai. From Mumbai. And you step out arrogantly and you step out and you feel the first kilo of the foul stench at reclamation and you shout with joy and the words come out in a victory march and you know you have lost. For you hear how much you love Mumbai. Madness."
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