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Naren Roy

Naren Roy

1940 - 2003

Naren Roy, better known as Sufi, played a major role as a political cartoonist in Bengal. Naren took the pen name Sufi at Ganashakti, the political mouthpiece of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), having been advised by the editor to take the name of a mystic seeker. He was directly involved with Left political movements and drew cartoons with strong and sharp barbs against right-wing and Congress mode of politics. In his late youth, he had to use several nom de plume due to his political affirmation. In Basumati and Jugantar, he worked for close to a quarter of a century before they closed down in 1996. His works also appeared in Joshtimadhu, Sachitra Bharat, Achalpatra, Shanibarer Chithi, Sangeetika, Yugantar and Basumati before he found his last and prominent position at Ganashakti. Sufi also drew sports cartoons in magazines like Garer Math and Stadium. In Swadhinota (Liberation, the magazine run by the communists) Sufi’s political statements were raised uncomfortable questions for those in the position of power. One of the proprietors of the paper, Arun Roy introduced Sufi to The Shankar’s Weekly where Sufi was a regular contributor until it closed in 1975 following the Emergency. His comic series with Raja (the detective kid) and Bagha (his dog) was published in Kishore Bharati. He drew for children in Shuktara, Sishusathi, and Sandesh, the editor of the last, Satyajit Ray, being a close friend. Sufi was also a great teacher of his art, leaving behind students and admirers. He published cartoon tabloids named Rongo Byango and Byango Jagat at an advanced age. In 1995, Sufi and Amal Chakraborty published a brochure on cartoons called Boi Niye Saatkahon (Seven Tales of a Book). Some of his cartoons on the Bangladesh Liberation War were retrieved and published posthumously.