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Legendary cartoonist Mario Miranda, who left an indelible stamp of the Goan ethos on the national consciousness and was hailed for his pictorial travelogues of world cities, died yesterday in his ancestral home in Loutolim after a prolonged illness. He was 85.
His widow Habiba said Miranda died in his sleep.
“He had been ailing for long and he passed away peacefully in his sleep,” she said.
Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said Miranda’s loss was a huge loss for Goa.
“Miranda was one of the greatest artists the century ever produced. In all his artistic work, he had always portrayed Goan character to the world.
“He has several exhibitions in almost all the five continents wherein he displayed his talents in international circles and laid emphasis on the Indian culture and particularly Goan ethos.”
Miranda was conferred India’s highest civilian awards - the Padma Shri in 1988 and the Padma Bhushan in 2002.
Born Mario Joao Carlos do Rosario de Britto Miranda, he earned his pips as a cartoonist for the Illustrated Weekly of India.
Minutes after the villagers learned of his death, the bells of the local church pealed in honour of the deceased soul as is the custom in rural Goa.
His mortal remains will be cremated after a mass today morning, and not buried, family sources said.
Miranda, who was born in Daman in 1926, studied at the St Xavier’s College, Mumbai. After flirting with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) preparations and dabbling in architectural studies, he finally acknowledged his calling by placing his pencil stub on paper.
His first big break came in the form of the Illustrated Weekly of India, a once popular magazine, before sketching for other publications including The Afternoon, Current, Femina and ‘MAD’, one of the most popular satirical illustrated magazines in the world.
While Miranda’s cartoons and characters like Miss Nimboo Pani and Bundaldass are what made him popular, it was his illustrations of people, landscapes and places which catapulted him to the league of creative geniuses.