Rafiqun Nabi

Rafiqun Nabi (born 28 November 1943), better known as Ranabi, is a Bangladeshi artist and cartoonist. He is best known for creating Tokai, a character symbolizing the poor street boys of Dhaka who lives on picking things from dustbins or begging and having a knack of telling simple yet painful truths about current political and socio-economic situation of the country.[1][2] He was awarded Ekushey Padak in 1993 by the government of Bangladesh.[3]

Rafiqun Nabi
রফিকুন নবী
Nabi in 2011
Born (1943-11-28) 28 November 1943
Chapai Nawabganj, Bengal Presidency, British India
NationalityBangladeshi
Other namesRanabi
Alma materEast Pakistan College of Arts and Crafts
OccupationArtist, cartoonist
Years active1964–present
Signature

Early life and education

Nabi was born in Nawabganj District in northwest Bangladesh in 1943.[4] He started drawing in his childhood. In the early 1950s, his father took him to a painting exhibition, held at the then Bardhaman House (now Bangla Academy).[1] He completed his bachelor's and master's from the East Pakistan College of Arts and Crafts (now Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka).[1] He studied under the supervision of artists like Zainul Abedin and Quamrul Hassan. He received a scholarship from the Asia Foundation between 1962 and 1964. During 1973–1976, he studied printmaking in Athens School of Fine Arts under the Greek Government's postgraduate scholarship.[1]

Nabi served as a faculty member of Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka during 1964–2010.[5][4]

Career

Nabi started out as a professional cartoonist in 1963.[6] His first contribution was to Weekly Purbodesh. Later in the mid 1960s, he became a regular in Shochitro Shandhani where he used to illustrate with cartoons the column Kaal Penchar Dairy by Abdul Gani Hazari.[6] In the late 1960s, he worked for the Weekly Express, an English periodical. During 1969, he got involved in a periodical named Forum, published by Rehman Sobhan and Hamida Hossain.[6]

Nabi returned from Greece in 1976. He began to contribute cartoons to the Weekly Bichitra and Dainik Bangla. He created the character Tokai, which first appeared in the anniversary issue of Bichitra in May 1977.[6]

References
  1. "Rafiqun Nabi maintains relevance, brilliance". The Daily Star. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  2. Haq, Fayza (16 May 2014). "Rafiqun Nabi – Recreating the Joy of Life". The Daily Star.
  3. একুশে পদকপ্রাপ্ত সুধীবৃন্দ [Ekushey Padak winners list] (in Bengali). Government of Bangladesh. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  4. "Rafiqun Nabi". Bengal Foundation. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  5. "Inside the Mind of a Master Painter". The Daily Star. 4 February 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  6. "Cartoon: the Art that Tickles". The Daily Star. 4 June 2003. Retrieved 1 December 2017.

Further reading
  • Mansur, Abul (2012). "Paintings". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Although more well-known as a book cover designer and cartoonist, Rafiqun Nabi is now a leading pictographist of the country, especially after his overseas training. He arranges his subjects somewhat in folk and somewhat in geometric styles.
  • Yee, Amy (13 March 2014). "In Bangladesh, a vibrant contemporary scene". The New York Times.
  • Lent, John A. (2015). Asian Comics. Univ. Press of Mississippi. pp. 513–. ISBN 978-1-62674-294-9.


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