April 13, 2005
Flaming purple KaliArt
Sounds like a cocktail, no? Pixar artist Sanjay Patel illustrates Hindu mythology in a style reminiscent of Suck, Demian 5, Virgin and Bewitched (thanks, Turbanhead). It’s gorgeous work, although his Rama does look a bit much like Hrithik Roshan, and any kid-safe interpretation of Kali is bound to cross the line into kitsch.
Patel’s site says he came up with its name, Ghee Happy, via obscure analogy: reducing the rich strokes of Hindu iconography to their essence is like clarifying butter into ghee. He self-published a children’s book of Hindu gods and also sells 11”x17” prints on his site. Check it out if you have any little ones in need of full-color indoctrination or just dig the visual style.
Update: Drawn has more (thanks, Harry). A commenter there says:
We were actually joking with Sanjay that he SHOULD do this with every religion, but I guess the problem with the monotheistic religions is that there would only be ONE page in the book…
manish on April 13, 2005 02:01 AM in Art, Kids, Religion · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post
Jai Ma.
Very nice indeed.
though i am not too religious, i am definitely going to order one of these! i wish they had this around when i was a kid. instead they had those cheap thin books that always fell apart and had very traditional drawings.
It's not just Kali that he's cleaned up - check out his Parusharama and NaraSimha's - both of whom were particularly bloody avatars. My favorite ACK comics were of those two, since they were often dripping with blood.
it's stuff like this that makes me keep coming back to SM for more. this artist is amazing - an incredibly original and refreshing style.
Great find! Man, if they offered T-shirts I'd buy 'em in a second...
(are you listening, Sanjay?) :)
Great stuff!!
Just to piggyback further on Ennis' comment (esp. bc Narasimha was one of my favorite ACK comics), Shiva is also far less menacing than he should be- he looks cheerful, which is definitely a different angle on Shiva.
w00t, manish got a shoutout on BoingBoing for this!
these are great- not overly kitschy, and pretty in an unreal sort of way.
I'm totally blown away with how well people have reacted to my book! I'm not very articulate, but let me just say I really did'nt think people would want this, let alone "understand it". I've gotton so many nice emails, that I told my wife that my birthday ( april 18th) present has come early this year.
I love it! Especially how all the gods are rendered a la Samurai Jack.
Smile pikachu-like and carry a big trishul!
A 3D animation geek, I have always dreamed of animating some of my favorite Hindu stories (must ... get ... time ... and ... computing ... power) - wonder if Sanjay has given any thought to vignettes created using Maya and/or SoftImage?
(Perhaps I should email the guy, eh?)
THIS IS TEH COOL!! Orders being placed now!
The house teenager thought the Gods depicted looked "cool" I guess I should be ordering the prints for the room. Bring it on...
rama and lakshmi are so adorable.
what a great idea.
Sanjay's book is adorable (I'm a huge fan of Samurai Jack style animation). There is an English Ramayana animated movie called The Legend of Prince Rama. It was made by a Japanese company several years ago and I think it is adorable. If you want to see a clip: http://www.desikids.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?pName=ramayana-vcd-legend-of-prince-rama
This is off topic, but seeing some of the incarnations of Vishnu reminded me of the fact that the dasha-avatars follow the theory of evolution.
Matsya - fish
Kurma - turtle
Varaha - boar
Narasimha - man-lion
Vamana - dwarf
Parashurama - warrior
Rama - prince
Krishna - cowherd
Buddha - the enlightened one
Kalki - the messiah
I thought it was an interesting factoid to share. :-)
Wish I could time travel. Would have ordered some and given it to me(kid)...Even the gods must be loving it.. cool stuff..
I think it is good work but for a typical ABCD.
It looks dumb and stupid when you throw it in front of an Indian kid who has seen the temples and the statues.
This is horrible! How can he disfigure our beloved religious images in such a silly way? You all should be ashamed of your....
nah just kidding (tried my best to play the role of VHP fool there). The graphics look awesome and I'll be buying the book soon. BTW a t-shirt would be a great idea Sanjay!
Maitri, thank you, you cracked me up!
Also, I just want to clarify that I think these are great for the young ones. I'm just showing my age, by displaying my unhealthy attachment to Amar Chitra Katha comics!
Let me guess: you also think Picasso is unrealistic.
great work sanjay..i'll definetly be buying a copy of the book in the near future...for me as well as to show my cousins back in india. Yeah, t-shirts would be good!
No I do not think so Manish.
Anyways you gotta buy the $20 (Picasso style for cheap) book as I said before
"It is good work but for a typical ABCD"
Sanjay - Shiva can populate the Southpark community with no changes.
Great Artistry
Sunset - if you remember from the ACK, Parashurama was a Brahmin, not a Kshatriya. Like Narasimha, he's an odd hybrid (not quite a transformer, but neither in one category nor another). I'm not sure if that violates the assumptions of the "evolutionary ladder" you've drawn out.
And to think that these temples and statues are the only way to represent Hindu gods is quite dumb and stupid, as you so redundantly put it.
I hope you were kidding.
Awesome work. This work would go nicely on an amazing website:
www.drawn.ca
Chekc it out!
It's apparently already on Drawn.
Cute.
Has anyone who ordered the book heard back from Sanjay? I guess the entry on Boing Boing really turned this into a craze. I bet he might get about 1000 orders by now.
Yeah, he said to send your address so he can calculate shipping costs.
He apparently introduced the book at the Alternative Press Expo (4/9-10). The word's been spreading ever since through the comics and illustrator communities.
Chibi deities!
Kawaaaiiiii !!!
Sugoi, sugoi, sugoi!!
*hugs little chibi deities*
I want to nuzzle chibi ganesh
;_; -sniff-
Congratulations! as always brilliant, genius, I have changed my religion....I worship... "Sanjay, the god of creation"....just the start of a flow that is endless...enjoy the celebrity... you more than deserve it...I kiss your ring and hold thoughts of you to my chest....oh and could I have your autograph?
I miss Suck. It wasn't revelatory, but I miss it anyway.