Among the famous disciples of the artists and litterateur Abandranath Tagore was Reboti Bhusan Ghosh, who had mastered Japanese art forms and earned the nickname ‘ the quick artist’. Apart from being a painter and caricaturist, Reboti was known for his art of story-telling, his poems, calligraphy, and training in Tagore’s songs. From a very early age, Reboti started publishing in well-known periodicals Sachitra Bharat, Dainik Yugantar, Dainik Basumati, Shanibarer Chithi, Jalsa, Krishok, Jugantar, Betar Jagat, Amrita, Nabakallol, and Satya Yug. Shankar Pillai, a great admirer of Reboti, offered him the position of a senior artist at the Children’s Book Trust. The artist spent the prime of his career in Delhi, illustrating for children. He also freelanced for various newspapers, magazines, and publishing houses such as UBS, Hemkunt Press, and Franc Brothers. The Statesman wrote after his death: ‘Reboti Bhushan Ghosh! The name rings a bell! No New Delhi Notebook, as it was known then, was complete without a sketch by him.’ Rebati was the master of caricatures. All the famous personalities of Rebati’s time were caricatured by him. Among his popular works were animal animations for children. He also collaborated with other cartoonists for the Bengali animation film Michke Potash (The Sly Rat, 1951). His solo exhibition was held at the Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata in 1998. A commemorative volume was published in 2008.
