From the Caricature Corner

‘Ithu Enga Area Ulla Varathe’ might not seem to be the most welcoming of lines(!) but if you regard it along with the mischievous guy depicted here with his whacky expression, you can feel his ‘local’ swag and smile at the now-relevant social distancing message that has emerged from it. This design’s history at Chennaigaga comes from a freestyle brief of concepts given to the designer. Since we were interested to create a series of caricature artworks for t-shirts, gifts and other souvenirs, we readily included this.

What sold us on it was the detailing on the artwork. The bushy eyebrows, exaggerated nose, brilliant display of teeth, the dramatic outfit and colours of his costume, his gait and so on. The hair style was the icing on the cake and the choice of footwear delighted us. There’s something so very comforting in namma ‘local’ portrayals when we approach it with a sense of humour.

Caricature is to drawing what humour is to text. Edgy perhaps, but overall, quite a tickle for your funny bone. Caricatures animate the whole vibe of the artwork and bring to life many elements seemingly casually included there. Exaggerations are needed to make a statement or express an attitude.

A big Thank You to Nabarun Ghosh for showing off Chennaigaga’s ‘Ithu enga area ulla varathe’ t-shirt for us. Nabarun has been a regular customer and well-wisher at Chennaigaga right through the past decade and is a source of great support and positive vibes, always encouraging us to keep going. When we had to close the physical store Post Covid and move to a fully online shop, Nabarun made a visit just to wish us the best, and took a video of the entire store while urging everyone watching, to continue to shop at chennaigaga.com from the comfort of their homes.

We would be delighted to hear from our other customers about their experience at Chennaigaga and you can reach us at team@chennaigaga.com