A first of its kind anthology of graphic non-fiction from India is now out, with my story ‘Metromorphosis’ as one of this set. The anthology is edited by comics artist and writer Orijit Sen and Vidyun Sabhaney and is published by Yoda Press, New Delhi.
The stories address a wide range of socio-political concerns, with personal insights and though based out of lived experiences and real occurrences, many of the stories have fictional elements as well – the kind of twists that the comics medium so readily allows for.
My story, Metromorphosis is a 13 page narrative of a migrant labouring woman – Chetan- who came in to New Delhi from Rajasthan and worked at a construction site for several years. Later, she began to use her traditional healing skills learnt way back in the village and today she has a small network of clients. Yet her life continues to be fraught with disturbances and she longs for village life.
Chetan’s story for me was as much about understanding another woman’s struggle for basic livelihood as it was to gain another perspective to how this city has been shaped, over the years. I have drawn and written out this story, and it was quite a laborious process to put together, but totally worth it!
Metromorphosis is an ongoing graphic novel on women migrants coming into Delhi as construction labour, interwoven with my experiences of public spaces within the city.
It moves between documentary narratives and fiction. I am playing freely with morphing mediums -photo, ink drawing, text here.