City to miss Mario masterstroke

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

City to miss Mario masterstroke

master illustrator created characters like Miss NimbuPani, the boss, Bundaldass,Miss fonseca

Cartoonist Mario Miranda, immortalised by his depiction of Goan life and his humorous take on the world around him, passed away at his residence near Panaji on Sunday.

He was 85.

The veteran cartoonist, who has left an indelible mark in his field with his inimitable style, died in his sleep on Sunday morning at his ancestral home in Loutolim village, about 40km from Panaji, said Gerald D’Cunha, a family friend of Miranda. Miranda’s creations like Miss Nimbupani and Miss Fonseca were regularly featured in Femina, Economic Times and The Illustrated Weekly of India.

Miranda studied at St Joseph’s Boys High School, Bangalore and obtained BA (History) from the prestigious St Xavier’s College in Mumbai. Initially, he was interested in joining the Indian Administrative Service but changed his mind and started studying architecture on his parents’ insistence, according to family sources.

Soon he lost interest in architecture too and ventured into arts. He started his career in an advertising studio and worked for four years before taking up cartooning.

Miranda got his first break when The Illustrated Weekly of India (now defunct) published a few of his cartoons. He also received offer from Current magazine.

A year later, he was offered job in The Times of India. He got an opportunity to travel abroad after winning Fundacao Calouste Gulbenkian scholarship. He went to Portugal and then to London, where he worked for newspapers and in television animations.

He will be “cremated” on Monday and not buried, family sources said. The veteran cartoonist had expressed his wish to his wife that he should be cremated and not buried after his death, they said. Miranda is survived by his wife Habiba and sons Rahul and Rishad. —Agencies
(Clockwise from top) Mario Miranda’s sketch of Shivaji; ‘Night of the Stars’ The Arrival of Rajni Nimbupani; George’s Pompidou Centre in Paris and the city’s one of the most famous bookshops, ‘Shakespeare and Company’