Kinjal (Pollen, কিঞ্জল) is one of the innumerable ‘little magazines’ (self-financed, non-commercial, literary ventures) of Bengal that lays special emphasis on humour and cartoons. It is a labour of love of Chandranath Chattopadhyay, a cartoon aficionado and researcher, and began its journey in 1978. In the 1980s, Kinjal hosted the first-ever Cartoonist’s Conference in Bengal, attended by Saila Chakraborty, Chandi Lahiri, Kamal Sarkar, Ahibhushan Malik, Naren Ray and one who went by the name Swapan Buro. In 1985, Kinjal published a special issue on Cartoon and in 1990, Cartoon Calcutta, an anthology in the wake of tri-centenary celebrations Calcutta. In 1998, Kinjal brought out a Telephone Notebook, which had cartoons pertaining to the use of telephones by renowned Bengali cartoonists. Kinjal’s special issues on cartoons include Byango Dorshone Rabindranath (Tagore as seen by Humourists, 1987), Saila Chakraborty (1996), Chandi Lahiri (1997), Amal Chakraborty (2003), Narayan Debnath (2014) and Debasish Deb (2016). The magazine always carries a relevant cartoon on its covers. Its issues on Gonosanjog (Public Relations, 1998) and Chumban (Kiss, 2002), carries delightful artwork by Debasish Deb. In others, Chandi Lahiri did the honours. Kinjal was a pioneer in cartoon merchandising – as early as the 1990s, keyrings were on sale on Valentine’s Day, which featured cartoons by Debasish Deb. Even with limited resources, the periodical manages to think out of the box, reach out to new readership and provide a platform for young cartoonists and reprint old works of the celebrated veterans.
