Georges Wolinksi, one of the 12 people who died in the attack on the offices of the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris on Wednesday, was no stranger to Mumbai. In 2008, he spent several days wandering around the city at the invitation of the Alliance Francaise, making sketches and conducting a cartoon workshop.
This clip (in French) shows him wandering the city's streets, visiting fish markets, peering at a small-scale manufacturing unit in Dharavi and chatting with employees at a pet shop. He struck up a friendship with Mumbai cartoonist Hemant Morparia, who drew this sketch of the two of them.
The French Touch "Georges Wolinski" by r-productions
Here is a translation of salient points of the interview.
"I've worked for Hara-Kiri, l'Hunamité, le Nouvel Observateur…that's how the years have passed by. Now I work for the Journal du Dimanche, Match and Charlie Hebdo. I talk about politics through my sketches.
"Here we see the contrast between the slums and the rest…that's Bombay for me. In the area where I live, there are women who sort out plastic cups recovered from restaurants. They probably use it for paper recycling. That's how they spend the whole day.
"Here, they're recycling batteries. They crush them with this machine, they sort out all the little pieces in different lots. Plastic in one lot, metal in the other…I've never seen this before.
"Since I've been here, I've never seen any bursts of aggression, which is nice…just nice people, and smiles. There's not much violence, which is good. As for the specificities of all these different religions and cults, myths like reincarnation etc …all this is folklore for me.
"I am an atheist, because a humorist cannot believe in god. A humorist must fight against lies. And I cannot stand the lies that religion professes.
"There have been many articles in the press that revolve around people like me, because we represent a certain mentality, a thought process that is different from what we have in this country. It intrigues people when I say that there is no limit to humour, that I obey or respect no one, and a humorist must not obey or respect anything. Apart from intellect, which is the only thing that counts.
"But Indians are both intelligent and traditional, it's complicated. I don't know everything about India, of course. What I've seen is very little. There are things I've understood and things that I haven't understood.
"Our sketches are funny, and that's how it should be. But it's serious stuff. They talk about serious matters. They talk about everyday life. And everyday life is a serious affair."
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This clip (in French) shows him wandering the city's streets, visiting fish markets, peering at a small-scale manufacturing unit in Dharavi and chatting with employees at a pet shop. He struck up a friendship with Mumbai cartoonist Hemant Morparia, who drew this sketch of the two of them.
Wolinksi's drawings abounded with sexual and scatological references. Many of his works were too risque to be displayed at the exhibition organised by the Alliance Francaise during his visit, but the lively cartoonist delighted in meeting visitors and explaining his motivations. He told one interviewer, "In the '50s and '60s, you had the pleasure of shocking people and wresting a reaction. Our job is precisely that ‒ to stir the hornet's nest."
The French Touch "Georges Wolinski" by r-productions
Here is a translation of salient points of the interview.
"I've worked for Hara-Kiri, l'Hunamité, le Nouvel Observateur…that's how the years have passed by. Now I work for the Journal du Dimanche, Match and Charlie Hebdo. I talk about politics through my sketches.
"Here we see the contrast between the slums and the rest…that's Bombay for me. In the area where I live, there are women who sort out plastic cups recovered from restaurants. They probably use it for paper recycling. That's how they spend the whole day.
"Here, they're recycling batteries. They crush them with this machine, they sort out all the little pieces in different lots. Plastic in one lot, metal in the other…I've never seen this before.
"Since I've been here, I've never seen any bursts of aggression, which is nice…just nice people, and smiles. There's not much violence, which is good. As for the specificities of all these different religions and cults, myths like reincarnation etc …all this is folklore for me.
"I am an atheist, because a humorist cannot believe in god. A humorist must fight against lies. And I cannot stand the lies that religion professes.
"There have been many articles in the press that revolve around people like me, because we represent a certain mentality, a thought process that is different from what we have in this country. It intrigues people when I say that there is no limit to humour, that I obey or respect no one, and a humorist must not obey or respect anything. Apart from intellect, which is the only thing that counts.
"But Indians are both intelligent and traditional, it's complicated. I don't know everything about India, of course. What I've seen is very little. There are things I've understood and things that I haven't understood.
"Our sketches are funny, and that's how it should be. But it's serious stuff. They talk about serious matters. They talk about everyday life. And everyday life is a serious affair."
