Mujib Graphic Novel: Daughters edit father’s tale
Mujib Graphic Novel is the first of its kind in the country to present the life story of a political legend in the form of comics
The team that put together the Mujib Graphic Novel had two editors who constantly chipped in with suggestions-- Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana.
They were cheered up when they found Hasina's edit notes on the draft of the Graphic Novel that was to bring to life Bangabandhu's amazing life story as a comic.
Mujib Graphic Novel is the first of its kind in the country to present the life story of a political legend in the form of comics.
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Based on the unfinished memoirs of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the graphic novel, a CRI publication, narrates the story of an ordinary village boy with an extraordinary dream that made him the founding father of a nation.
On one of the pages where a man and a dog were fighting for a piece of bread during the historic 1943-famine, Hasina recommended portraying the man, weak and hungry, as sitting instead of standing, said a media release.
On another page featuring Mujib and his father becoming too serious about a football match, she suggested sketching hair on the head of the latter.
"Correct my grandfather's picture. He was not bald and his head was full of hair till the end of his life," wrote the Prime Minister.
Dubbing young Mujib's famine-time service to humanity as an example for students, she instructed the team to mention that some food was donated by saving on hostel meals.
In another part, there was a text saying that Mujib took a tonga (horse-cart) on his journey from a hotel to Taj Mahal. Hasina corrected the text, realizing that such a long distance cannot be covered by a horse-cart.
Reflecting on the contribution of Hasina and Rehana, Bangabandhu's grandson and CRI trustee Radwan Mujib said, "We're lucky that my mother and my aunt (Prime Minister) backed the project from the very beginning. Without them, we couldn't get this done. I used to give the script and cartoonists' draft to my mother and aunt. You know how busy my aunt (PM Hasina) is. I used to keep the documents on her table so that she could check those after getting back from the office.
"To my surprise, I found, after an hour or two, her observations were written there. Sometimes my team was astonished as they inquired if it was written by Prime Minister herself."
