Satyajit Ray is something of a legend in Bengal. And his famous fictional detective Feluda is as much a Kolkata emblem as any other. So much so that there was a time when Durga Puja signalled the release of a Feluda film.
If any Pradosh Chandra Mitter (Feluda) or Ray fan wishes to take home a piece of his work, go no farther than the beautiful black and white sketches by Kolkata-based artist Karishma Siddique Roy, which depict moments from the Feluda films. Apart from Satyajit Ray, her large and diverse collection of sketches, notebooks, and ephemera showcase cityscapes, maestros from the world of jazz, the potters quarter of Kumortuli, Kolkata's iconic Coffee House, and much more. She has made countless sketches while walking the city, and her repertoire highlights the connections between people and place.
How It All Began
Roy found her way to becoming a fountain pen artist through her husband, Diptanshu Roy, a fountain pen aficionado. Since childhood, Roy has been passionate about reading, art, craft, and music, making her own greeting cards and knick-knacks, singing, elocuting, and acting in school plays. "I excelled in academics, but I was also obsessed with becoming a radio jockey because that’s where I was introduced to most of my favourite songs, I then wanted to share that passion with more people, and I was lucky enough to do that for All India Radio, Kolkata. And hats off to my parents for never forcing me to choose a traditional path." Roy has at various points been a stylist and, later, a manager for several musical bands like NSA and Two Macha."
The Art Of Sketching In A Pandemic
Roy started sketching in earnest during the pandemic "which apart from being deeply distressing for me personally, also affected my clothing label which was always indie and small-scale and it went into limbo. I sunk into depression after unexpectedly losing my father-in-law, who was a friend and guide I deeply respected, to Covid. It was at that stage I rediscovered myself through art."
Roy says she is a self-taught portrait artist and has been sketching faces since she was two. Her husband, who is a fountain pen afficionado, suggested that she sketch with one of his fountain pens, "and that is literally how my journey began in December 2020."
Exploring a new medium of expression was the perfect remedy for her depression at that point, she says, and completing every artwork with an unforgiving tool meant a level of focus that was almost like meditating. "I would sketch faces unrelentingly and the internet was a helpful source of arresting faces and expressions. For me, portraiture is all about capturing the essence of a person."
Roy created an Instagram profile called Potteraits, ("my husband’s pun on my love for Harry Potter and portraits") as a ‘photo-dump’ for her artworks. Once the pandemic started to ease, she began frequenting cafes where she could sketch uninterruptedly for hours. "A regular there who loved my work was the first to commission a portrait. I was also deeply encouraged to continue when my artwork was bought by Samson Grisman as a gift for his father, mandolin icon, David Grisman."
After taking up sketching with fountain pens, Roy even joined some fountain pen communities where she would share her work. "That’s when things started opening up for me, and I took this medium more seriously. It was also a wonderful extension of my belief in a sustainable lifestyle, involving a reusable, not to mention, gorgeously crafted tool."
And then her collaboration with Sulekha happened, and what was very personal now entered a public domain.
A Fountain Of Inspiration
The ink she is working with is also a Bengal legend, much like Ray. She sketches mostly with Sulekha Ink, which was founded during the Swadeshi movement as a tactic to boycott foreign stationery.
"Sulekha kali (ink) was an integral part of our childhood and to be associated with such an iconic brand was truly a dream come true for me." When she started sketching with fountain pens, she would share her artworks on various fountain pen forums and they caught the eye of Chawm Ganguly, the gentleman behind the revival of the legendary Sulekha inks.
"He contacted me to commission an artwork of Khudiram Bose for the packaging of their soon-to-be-launched line of inks called Swadhin and they graciously invited me to launch the inks at the Sulekha factory." Potteraits was initially loved and followed by Roy's friends who knew about her interest in art, but now strangers started following her on Instagram. They would write to her about how much they loved the Swadhin packaging.
"It was magical to see the packs all over the stores and on social media. Being an avid pandal-hopper, the highlight of my Durga Pujo 2021 was the Sulekha-themed pandal at Trinayanee at APC Park, Kankurgachi, which featured gigantic Swadhin ink bottles. Mr Ganguly and Mr Kaushik Maitra, the managing director of Sulekha graciously inaugurated my first solo exhibition and they gifted me a special limited edition fountain pen from Sulekha. Thanks to my grandfather Mr. Satyaranjan Sen, a freedom fighter, the swadesi movement holds special meaning for my family. So a special bond with handlooms, Sulekha ink, handmade paper, and handmade fountain pens is no surprise."
Roy And Ray
Roy found refuge from the distress of the pandemic in art, primarily that of Satyajit Ray. "Both my husband and I are die-hard Ray lovers and his stories, films, and compositions played a big part in dispelling the negativity and loss that was surrounding us. While evoking a sense of nostalgia, Ray’s creations, so rooted in universal truths, was a balm to our harried senses."
"What has always struck me about Ray’s stories and films is the flawlessness of his characterisation. Especially the so-called secondary characters who are as memorable as the protagonists, if not more. While watching a Feluda film, I had this idea of capturing on paper, the iconic expressions and personas of both my favourite characters and the actors performing their parts so indelibly; their performances a veritable treasury of expressions and emotions that I wanted to evoke with my fountain pen. I hoped to elicit the same emotions we felt while watching the films and happily for me, the response to the series was a rousing testimony to that. People would share their favourite moments from the films thus uniting us all in our love for Ray, a unity especially significant in these trying times."
Roy's Feluda series, titled #fountainpenfeluda, is literally a labour of love, a thank you letter to Ray, Feluda and her eternal favourite Soumitra Chatterjee. "It is also a homage to my late father-in-law, with whom I had endless adda sessions on favourite books, literary characters, authors, and of course, Mr. Ray. The artworks helped me overcome my personal grief and is now a part of my ongoing #inkingRAY series where I feature more of my favourite characters from the Ray-verse."
Her Favourite Ray Sketches
"While I love them all, the portrait of Captain Spark/Ruku is a favourite since it magically led me to actually meet the actor behind Ruku, Mr. Jit Bose, who then gifted me a copy of the screenplay handwritten by Ray, of the first ‘shob shotti’ scene from Joy Baba Felunath, which was an artwork I happened to be working on at the time.
Another favourite! I also love the ‘Maganlal Meghraj’ and the ‘people-watching’ artwork which is based on the first scene from Mahapurush; a perfect example of the ‘characterisation’ of Ray I had mentioned. It is a portrait of a motley group of people, yet with fascinatingly distinctive traits. I am also partial to the secondary characters, such as the ‘cooking-medium’ guy, and the guard at the station. In fact, a portrait of the actor Haridhan Mukherjee, from the Mahapurush film is now with his family. And these little unbelievable moments make my journey even more special."
The Artworks Travel
Instagram is her go-to gallery and she showcases all her artworks there. The year 2022 was a memorable year, she says. Her fountain pen artwork titled, ‘The Creative Spirit’, was selected to be exhibited at the 93rd and 94th Annual All India Art Exhibition at the All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS) in Delhi, in May. In September, she had my first Solo Exhibition at First Flush in Kolkata where archival prints from her #inkingRAY series were available. She had also entered a poster competition held by the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) to commemorate 100 years of Ray, and the poster featuring her ‘Jay Shree Ray’ artwork was among the top 75 selected to be displayed at the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) held in Goa, in November. "In March 2023, I was among the bunch of international artists invited by Reader’s Digest, to create a full-page illustration for their back page to commemorate their centenary year. An unbelievable moment for me."
A Sustainable Clothing Label
Roy has also founded a clothing label, KSR, which would use the Bengali tradition of khesh using old saris. "I grew up in an environment where reusing and upcycling was the norm. Where handmade was considered better than simply mindlessly buying. Looking back I am amazed by how my mother would seamlessly transform old sarees into gorgeous throws and cushions way before these habits were considered trendy. I was always encouraged to create things. Thus my love for everything handmade till the day I die."
Roy was interested in clothes and style and grew up reading her grandfather’s books on handicrafts. "He was associated with building the Cottage Industry in Bengal and thus it was no surprise that I wanted to work with handlooms and fashion. It was in my third year of design school when I worked with a craft cluster in Shantiniketan, that I fell in love with khesh, a fabric which is woven with new yarn as warp and strips of old saris as weft, lending a unique unpredictability to the look and being a champion sustainable textile option. After graduating, I founded my label KSR, because I wanted to make handcrafted pieces of eclectic statement jewellery which was followed by a line of clothing in khesh as well as naturally dyed handlooms and organic cottons."
A Full Circle
Roy says her artistic journey has come "a full circle in a beautiful way with my ongoing exhibition at the 8th Day Cafe outlets in Kolkata (at Jatin Bagchi Road, and AJC Bose Road). The cafe near Vivekananda Park was literally where I have created many of my artworks and to have them displayed on the walls there makes me very happy."
All That Jazz
Roy is working on a special series on jazz musicians, titled, #penonjazz and hopes to exhibit the artworks soon. "The series has received an amazing response including appreciation from the daughter of jazz legend Oscar Peterson. I hope someday I am able to have a solo exhibit in a national gallery."
She is also working on an artistic documentation of the people of Shantiniketan, a place she has been visiting since 2007 and where she has forged innumerable and memorable bonds over the years. "Finally, I am planning to apply to interesting artist residencies to further hone my ideas and skills as my journey has truly just begun."
Where To Find Her Work
Originals and archival prints of Roy's artworks are available for sale. She also takes commissions for portraits. Interested buyers can contact her via email - potteraits@gmail.com, or on her Instagram page. She says she is always open to portrait commissions and is particularly keen to work on book covers and magazine spreads.