Penguins on a Wall by Ankon Mitra
Penguins on a Wall
The Penguin Goody bag arrived. Everything’s rather fine, definitely nerdy. Besides the definite (and desirable) embarrassment of carrying a notebook to client meetings and discussions, which proudly proclaims – ‘A Suitable Boy’ (whipping it out with a slow flourish so that everyone can see the cover), the other magnificent thing was the fuchsia pink jholā which read – ‘Maximum Bag’, quite a fabulous pun on the book, I thought. Well worth taking to those music classes and intellectual soirees – definitely a point of discussion, also a worthy object when wanting to break the ice with that pretty (but nonetheless nerdy) stranger at the Āddā.
The box of Penguin postcards is of course the pièce-de-résistance. Beautiful thick art card postcards, emblazoned with some of the most gorgeous Penguin India book covers ever, the box itself doing a splendid job of looking like a hardback itself. A friend sees the postcards and immediately pipes up – frame them! So I try to pick my favourite 25 from the set of 50 and then realize I don’t have wall space enough at home or at the studio, to give these lovelies the canvas that is their due. How about 16, my ever enthusiastic chum pipes up again. Hmmm…
In the end, I settle for 9 (it is the toughest job in the world whittling down the 25 to 9, each postcard is as beautiful as the next). And why 25, 16 or 9, you may well ask? It’s a grid composition only a 5X5 or 4X4 or 3X3 would work that’s why. With some sadness, I bring down a László Moholy-Nagy poster, making way for the framed postcards. It takes the framers 2 weeks, but when the lot arrives, Moholy-Nagy is forgotten without even the slightest modicum of regret. Creamy white frames find their place on a brushed dark grey wall. I stand and stare at the – ‘Penguins on a Wall’!
Ankon Mitra is a landscape architect on weekdays and an origamist on weekends. He likes the geometry of everyday things; the voice of Bombay Jayashree; the Études of Chopin, and the hills in the monsoons. And, The Collected Short Stories by Roald Dahl is his most cherished Penguin till date.
The Penguin India merchandise is available at all leading bookstores. You can also view the range here http://www.penguinindia25.com/about/merch.html