Meet the man behind Morparia - the cartoonist who embodies Mumbai's funny side
Dr Hemant Morparia
We have caught Dr Hemant Morparia in between his appointments at a hospital in South Mumbai, and, as he settles into a chair beside an ultrasound machine, he updates us on a patient's precarious position between life and death. It seems to be a rather eventful end to the day, one of those that makes the 55-year-old radiologist quip about the fun and the gravity of the practice of medicine. He then makes an anti-climactic assertion, "The fact that I am a doctor is the boring side to me."
It could be that Morparia is simply biased towards his other life. When he is not shuttling between the three centres that he consults at, Morparia is known about town as a cartoonist — perceptive, irreverent and witty. For nearly 30 years now, Morparia has been a cartoonist with several leading publications, starting out with The Illustrated Weekly of India in 1986. "I first began cartooning during a residency at KEM Hospital [in Parel]. At that time, if anyone had asked me if I would have a dual career in both radiology and cartooning, I would have said no," he says.
Every morning, after his mandatory two cups of masala chai, Morparia sets out to make the most pointed satirical observations on the latest happenings in the country — our eccentric censor board, pseudo-nationalism, and the hip fads that the junta is addicted to. Well, nearly everything, except cricket, which has miserably failed to interest Morparia.
On August 10, the cartoonist-radiologist will show a suite of works at Sakshi Salon, the recently opened sister space to Sakshi Gallery in Colaba. The exhibition, titled Motabhai is Watching You, is Morparia's take on contemporary India. Motabhai, as Gujaratis only know all too well, is a term of endearment, and different from the foreboding reference to Big Brother. "With cartoons, one learns the art of sophistry and to be indirect. There is the joy of subtlety and suggestion rather than directness," says Morparia, as he swiftly sketches by the LED light of an X-Ray film viewer.
The exhibition and sale will feature 50 works, some dating back to the 1980s. Morparia has previously had exhibitions at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, Sakshi Gallery and Alliance Française. He has also exhibited alongside the illustrious French cartoonist, the late Georges Wolinski, who was killed in 2015 in the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo. "Cartooning is an opinion. In the age of fake news and camps, it is an independent voice, an unfettered honest opinion. As long as you laugh, there is still hope left," he says.
What is sure to draw visitors' curiosity is Morparia's latest hobby. A set of five resin sculptures depicting some well-known luminaries will be on display at the exhibition. "As I am now established, I can no longer call cartooning a hobby. These days, working with clay and archery are my pastimes," he says, adding that sculpting is a direct extension of his love to work with his hands. Recounting his childhood pastimes of fashioning crossbows and burglar alarms, he says, "I think we do our best work when we do the things we did as children."
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