01 Apr / Corridor: A Graphic Novel by Sarnath Banerjee
Well, no wonder why I hadn’t heard of Indian graphic novels until discovering Sarnath Banerjee! I wasn’t alone as his debut title, Corridor, was widely marketed as Indian’s first graphic novel! Although, that’s apparently incorrect information as The River of Stories by Orijit Sen was published a decade earlier, in 1994. Nevertheless, Indian graphic novels seem to be … well … novel, as in new and on the rare side …
Corridor introduces disparate young Delhi men who pass through the doors of Mr. Rangoon Walla’s bookstore, including Brighu who will brave the sweltering Delhi summer heat in search of that elusive book, Angrez Bosch passing through on his way to yogic fulfillment, Digital Dutta (who also appears in Banerjee’s Barn Owl’s Wondrous Capers) who is “torn between Karl Marx and his H-1B Visa …[and] lives in his head,” and Shintu who is newly married and compares himself unfavorably to the lasting power of porn stars, ahem, but finds salvation in hair oil.
Readers: Adult
Published: 2004, 2005 (United States)