Orijit Sen

Orijit Sen (born 1963) is an Indian graphic artist and designer. His graphic novel River of Stories, published in 1994 by Kalpavriksh, is considered as the first graphic novel of India. He co-founded People Tree in 1990 as a "collaborative studio and store for artists, designers, and craftspeople." He is one of the founders of The Pao Collective of comic book artists; PAO: The Anthology Of Comics 1 by Penguin Books India won the 2nd Comic Con India Awards 2012 in the best graphic anthology category. He is Mario Miranda Chair visiting professor at Goa University.The Disappearing Tiger, a t-shirt designed by him, is currently featured at The Fabric of India exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. His diverse works, which include public art works, have been exhibited in India, England, Russia, France, Japan, Canada, and various other countries.

Orijit Sen studied at the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad in the 1980s. He recalled that "I read whatever underground comics I could get my hands on. These included Robert Crumb and Art Spiegelman. I was blown away by Spiegelman’s Maus." In his words, Maus validated his artistic convictions and inspired him to pursue drawing and making comics. After leaving NID Ahmedabad, Sen got involved with the Narmada Bachao Andolan and worked closely with the activists and the displaced adivasis. With the help of a grant from a non-profit organisation Kalpavriksh, Sen created India's first graphic novel as well as non-fiction comics River of Stories.

Sen faced a tough time trying to find readers for River of Stories. Many "bookshops refused to stock it as it didn’t fit into any of the categories that they displayed" and Sen was compelled to stock it at his studio and shop People Tree. River of Stories is now out of print. However, in the last one decade in India, a loyal and serious readership of graphic novels and comic books has been developing gradually and Sen is going to bring out a new edition of River of Stories very soon.

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