Mario de Miranda, the famous cartoonist, famous passed away in his sleep during the early hours of Sunday at his ancestral home in Loutolim, Salcete, Goa.
- Mario de Miranda
His cartoon characters like Miss Nimbupani and Miss Fonseca would be fondly remembered by the readers acquainted with his work in various magazines like the now defunct Illustrated Weekly of India; heavily accentuated bosoms and exaggerated, protruding eyeballs became more or less the signatures of his cartoons.
Mario Miranda’s early cartoons dealt with life in the villages of Goa. He is famous for them even today.
Mario Mirnda was born in Daman in 1926.
He did his schooling at St. Joseph’s Boys’ High School, Bangalore. thereafter, he completed his B.A. in History at St.Xavier’s College, Mumbai.
Mario Miranda displayed his inherent talent as a toddler; his mother, who found him doodling on the walls of his home, encouraged him. As he grew up, he used to draw pictures for his friends.
After working initially in an advertising studio, he took up drawing cartoons as a career.
Miranda got his break when Illustrated Weekly of India published his cartoons. Later his cartoons were published in the Times of India, Economic Times, Femina etc.Mario Miranda’s cartoons were featured in magazines like the ‘Punch’ as well.
Mario Miranda authored several books like “Laugh it Off,” “Goa with Love,” and “Germany in Wintertime”. He is the illustrator of “A Journey to Goa” by Dom Moraes, “Inside Goa” by Manohar Malgaonkar, etc.
Mario got the Fundacao Calouste Gulbenkian Scholarship later; the scholarship led him to send a year in Portugal and enrich his experience. After that, he lived in UK for five years during some of which he worked at Independent Television.
- Mario de Miranda Cartoon
Then he returned to India and joined Times of India once again.
In 1974 the United States Information Services invited him to the US where he met several famous cartoonists including Charles Schulz.
Mario Miranda was honoured with Padma Shri in 1988, followed by Padma Bhushan in 2002. He was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award of the All India Cartoonists Association, Bangalore. He was honoured by the Government of Goa with the State Cultural Award in 2008.
Mario Miranda is famous for other forms of art as well. He is famous for his murals on several buildings in various parts of the country.
Gerard de Cunha, a Goan architect, compiled some of Mario’s work into an impressive collection titled “The Life of Mario: 1951”. He said: “It’s unfortunate that Mario’s reputation as a cartoonist has denied him recognition as a a great artist. Hopefully, this book will finally put him where he belongs.”
Maria Aurora Counto, writer, said: “He was such an iconic figure who, through his innumerable murals, actually took Goa to India and brought India to Goans.”
The genius of Mario Miranda is perhaps best summarised by Manohar Malgaonkar who said that Mario Miranda “did not become a cartoonist” and that he “was born a cartoonist”.
Mario Miranda is survived by his wife Habiba and his two sons Raul and Rishaad.
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