Food & Farming

A Journey Through India in Comics

Orijit Sen, Vidyun Sabhaney, Harsho Mohan Chattoraj

Paperback

978-93-92018-73-2

LeftWord Books, 2024

Language: English

240 pages

6 x 6 inches

INR 495.00

In stock

SKU

LWB1613

'Here is a clear-eyed look at the most basic human right of all, the right to food, and why so many people - including those who grow food - go hungry or remain undernourished.' – Githa Hariharan, author, editor and founder of Indian Writers Forum

'A most engaging graphic novel which captures the politics of food and farming in today's India, this comes at a critical moment.' – Sagari R Ramdas, Food Sovereignty Alliance, India

'A great introduction, for young and old, to questions of food security. The easy-to-read text and comics medium make this book an essential primer and beginner's guide.' – Parismita Singh, author and graphic novelist

Join Soni and Lucky as they journey through India in search of answers to tough questions about its food security and agriculture. From the history of the Public Distribution System to the impact of the Green Revolution on groundwater, this graphic novel gives readers a comprehensive overview of India's food system. Since the early 1990s, the Indian state has sought to privatise agriculture and withdraw from its duty to solve the country's hunger crisis. Given the intensification of this process in recent years - exemplified by the attempt to impose three new farm laws in 2020 that heavily favoured corporations - this comic is essential reading for any Indian today.

Harsho Mohan Chattoraj

Harsho Mohan Chattoraj is a graphic novelist and illustrator based in Kolkata. He has been involved in the creation of comics and graphic novels since the turn of the century and has done art for newspapers, advertising agencies and commercial clients in India, USA and the UK. Some of his recent works are Destiny Awakes, Operation Decay, Pagla Sahib’s Grave and Chotushkon.

Orijit Sen

Orijit Sen, born in 1963, is an Indian graphic artist, muralist, and designer. In 1990, he co-founded People Tree — a collaborative studio and store for artists, designers and craftspeople. Along with his wife and fellow designer Gurpreet Sidhu, he continues to lead People Tree’s design studio — developing in-house projects as well as partnerships with organisations working in the arts and social sectors. Comics and visual storytelling have been an important strand in his diverse set of practices as a visual artist. His book River Of Stories came out in 1994, and is considered to be India’s first graphic novel in English. He is also co-founder of the Pao Collective of comics artists, and chief editor of Comixense, a comics quarterly for young readers. Orijit has served as Mario Miranda Chair Visiting Professor at Goa University, where he initiated an experimental arts and research project entitled the ‘Mapping Mapusa Market Project’, which involved students, educationists and artists. He was also Visiting Professor at the Visual Arts Department of Ashoka University. His work has been extensively published, exhibited and installed in India as well as internationally.

See more books by Orijit Sen

Vidyun Sabhaney

Vidyun Sabhaney is a writer and illustrator of graphic narratives and comics. Her work has been published by a number of publishers and magazines. She is the co-editor of First Hand, and the editor of First Hand 2, both non-fiction and research-based comics anthologies. She is a co-editor of Drawing Resistance, a bilingual publication with two issues. She also started Captain Bijli Comics, an independent comics publishing platform which created Mice Will Be Mice, DOGS! An Anthology, and the First Hand books (in collaboration with Yoda Press & People Tree). Her latest independent work is a comic on the women of the farmer’s movement titled Haq.