Ex-IAS officer takes cartoon route to kindle reading habits
Times of India | 16 February 2025
1234 Kolkata: A retired bureaucrat, who has been on a mission for the last few years to bring reading habits back among youngsters, dons the hat of a cartoonist to inculcate social and family values among teenagers. Former IAS officer Sudipta Chatterjee, who retired in 2020 in the rank of secretary to the state govt, is creating cartoon strips in her leisure time.
"Reading habits have been on the wane among kids as they are getting more addicted to gadgets. These days kids watch cartoons on the screen. But I intend to kindle their interest in reading cartoon literature. When I was secretary in the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights, we took up several initiatives to bring children back to books. That's when the idea was conceived,"said Chatterjee, now a resident of New Town and a former student of Lady Brabourne College and an MBA from University of Calcutta.
Her first 101 cartoon series, published in the form of a book ‘Yes Dear', is based on relationship and marriage humour that is meant for children of all ages and adults. Now, she is working on a sequel to the first series, drawing characters from people she observes daily. Chatterjee's maiden novel ‘Sandcastles' fetched her an award in the national e-Author novel-writing competition.
"I draw the cartoons and create characters and dialogues, woven around themes of love, family values, long-lasting bonds, commitment, patience, and marital ties . The target readers of my cartoons are both teenagers and adults, whom I try to advise that they ought to have the ability to see the other side of the coin in everything," she said. Asked how she developed a liking for cartoons, the retired bureaucrat replied, "I grew up with Narayan Debnath's ‘Handa Bhonda', ‘Nonte Phonte', and ‘Batul the Great', as well as Satyajit Ray's ‘Sandesh.' Besides, English comics such as Asterix, Sad Sack, Garfield, Calvin & Hobbes, among others, have always fascinated me as a teenager. I read each of them at least a hundred times, and I still keep on reading those strips to delve deep into the humour that can be found in the medium of laughter."
In the past 35 years, there are about 12 publications to Chatterjee's credit in both Bengali and English, and of these books, four are meant for children.
"The Drumstick Tree and Other Stories' is her short stories' collection, and her published novels include ‘The Other People' and ‘Apostrophe S.' Her short stories have found a place in Unisun Publications' collection ‘Curtains', which went to the London Book Fair.
"My main aim is to write for kids but I shall continue writing for adults too. When I was a bureaucrat, I used to burn the midnight oil for writing. Now I enjoy writing in my leisure hours, tucked away from the madding crowd, with Manna Dey and Neil Diamond songs playing in the background," she said.
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