My first published short comic!
‘One Step Forward, Two Steps Back’ was an outcome of attending a workshop ‘Digging Deeper’ conducted by Orijit Sen under Goa University’s VRPP Programme in September 2015.
I was fortunate enough to share this story with the world through First Hand, which is an anthology of non fiction comics. I finally got my hands on the printed copy yesterday evening, and needless to say, I am overjoyed!
The 12 page comic shares my experience of visiting Pissurlem, a village in Goa whose lush beauty began to disappear when mining companies were allowed dig beyond the permitted depth - resulting in dried wells, lost livelihood, and lakes choked with silt.
Walking through the abandoned mine, I strangely felt both underwhelmed and overwhelmed. The shock or anger I had anticipated never came but I remember feeling overcome by a sense of despondency. In a way, the first draft of the script was more a rant than a story. I guess my protagonist was born out of the confusion I experienced back then.
The cover page to my comic:
I have a long list of people to thank, so please bear with me:
Vidyun Sabhaney for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the anthology.
Orijit Sen for patiently mentoring me through the project along with Isa Hinojosa, who shared a lot of interesting resources.
Mr Ramrao Wagh and Prof Badiger for facilitating my attendance of the ‘Digging Deeper’ workshop at their college in Sanquelim, Goa.
Mr Manav Gadgil for sharing inspiring stories from his work as an environmentalist. Mr Hanumant and Mr Ravindra Velip for walking us around Pissurlem and Caurem and giving us an insight into the effects of mining in Goan villages.
My wonderful bosses at Therefore Design, who let me go away for three whole weeks and my colleagues who shared inputs.
My friend Ramya, who joined me for the workshop, for giving me continuous feedback and pushing me to finish the comic (and every other project I have ever taken up). My fellow participants- Nikhil, Ved, Kiran, Angela, Raviraj as well as other students from the college and for sharing ideas and inputs, letting me use their photographs as references and for being great company.
The people at the Old Quarter cafe in Panjim for letting me use their space. A large part of the comic was conceived there.
Amanda Palmer’s audio book ‘The Art of Asking’ that gave me company when I tried to finish the rest of the comic back in Pune.
And to end it on a rather cheesy note, a small thank you to my friend Azam who gifted me a copy of The Pao Anthology in 2013 with this little note, which I had, back then, laughed off in disbelief.
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