Lucknow: An era ends with the passing away of Ganesh Chandra Dey. It is said that a painter’s painting is actually a part of his process of seeing his surroundings and his time. Those who have the ability to express their thoughts through paintings or present an event in a very interesting way come under the category of cartoon or sketch artists.
Taking the help of their art, very few like Ganesh Chandra Dey shed light on serious issues, social scenarios and make a comment on social evils in a very interesting way, that too so aptly in a very subtle manner. But they also take good care that the cartoon made by him does not hurt anyone’s feelings and he is able to put his point in front of everyone in a very simple way. At the same time, giving birth to a new fictional cartoon character to make cartoons for children is also the work of a cartoonist.
Senior cartoonist artist Ganesh Chandra Dey, who passed away on the morning of 2 June 2024 had mastered the art very well. The news of this death was given by his daughter Shubhra Dey. Cartoonist Ganesh Dey, who became famous through art, was from Bankura, West Bengal, the place of work (about 40 km from the home of Indian artist Yamini Roy).
Ganesh did not receive any art education from any institute. He was fond of drawing since childhood. He used to run a paan shop for his livelihood and used to draw in his free time. Seeing this, many people asked him to go into this field. Then he turned towards this and from then on he kept drawing till his last breath. And he also made this his means of livelihood.
Bhupendra Kumar Asthana said that Ganesh Dey started his journey as a cartoonist with ‘Jandhara’ and further in this series, Ganesh Dey did drawing in many newspapers and magazines from 1989 to 1994. He also worked in ‘The Chronicle’. On the advice of people, Ganesh Dey came to Lucknow and here he made his mark through his cartoons in newspapers like ‘Samta Lehar’, ‘Swatantra Bharat’ and ‘THE TIMES OF INDIA’, Pioneer, Rashtriya Swaroop from 1996 to 1998 and since 1995 he continued to do his drawing with full dedication in many social sectors.
Ganesh Dey did a lot of his drawing work in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh. Drawing had great importance in Ganesh Dey’s paintings. He used his visual art language more while taking the help of words as little as possible. He made his feelings, his art vision, his thoughts the main way of his art expression.
Ganesh Dey used his art to make people aware by preparing a blueprint of the evils prevalent in the society. He also fulfilled his thoughts by participating in countless competitions and programs. And he worked with the same thinking till the end. Along with organizing workshops, he was also associated with many social welfare organizations, and kept sharing the nuances and qualities of painting with people.
Ganesh Dey was born on 5 October 1953. He was 71 years old. He worked continuously even in the last phase of his life. He never accepted defeat even in adverse circumstances. He never got disappointed. He kept going through struggle and various phases for a long time. He lived in a rented room in Lucknow with his wife.
Despite all the difficulties, he kept doing his favorite work. Every line coming out of his hand challenges both the condition and direction of the society. He was also disappointed due to the lack of feelings towards art and artists in the society. Due to disappointment, he used to say that “Now in the digital age, I am worried about the cartoons made by me because now it is not possible to do digital work at this age”.
Today, ‘work’ and ‘money’ are more important than ‘respect’ for an artist.
People lovingly called Ganesh Dey ‘Dada’. His life was like that of those artists who never got any government help. No art institute took any step to help him. Dada kept collecting some resources by working with some voluntary organizations. He kept showing his expression through his cartoons on contemporary events.
Artists like Dey are a heritage for both the society and the government. But in the superficial glamour, the value of Dey and his art was lost somewhere. This is not a good sign for any country and society. He was ready to teach cartoon art to the new generation and children for free. So that this art never ends. An old struggling but spiritually connected cartoon artist Ganesh Dey with art and colours has now bid farewell to this world. But his memories will always remain in our hearts. Through social media, many artists and cartoonists from across the country paid him emotional tribute.
