Pronam Bibhrat / Confusion of Ideas

Gaganendranath Tagore was perhaps India’s first artist to use his skills to lampoon and critique the idiosyncrasies of contemporary society. His portfolios of cartoons, such as Birupa Bajra and Adbhut Lok, were merciless satires on a section of the Bengali society that had become a rather silly caricature of the colonial masters. This gouache and ink work expresses one such satire—Anglicised Bengalis worshipping a deity from outside a temple, while their pockets brim with ill-gotten wealth and forbidden food. At the left corner, the artist has scribbled in Bangla, Pronam Bibhrat, which translates into confusion of the belief system.