The Hindu Business Line : Slice of India in French comics

There is, in fact, something of himself in most of his comic strips. In each comic, there is "one character who is very much like me — thin and tall," explains Cailleaux, pointing to a figure on the cover of one of his books, Les Imposteurs. The comic strips are semi-autobiographical, he adds.

So, his experiences in India over the past six weeks will form the basis of a new book. "It is a book about a young French man travelling through India," says Cailleaux. However, he emphasises that though the book will draw on his experiences, it will also be part fiction. "I am also thinking about translating it into English so people in India can get to read it," he adds.

In India on an exchange programme managed by the French Embassy, Cailleaux is also working with a French writer on a book about the sea, ports, ships, sailors and other things nautical.

It is an attempt to do a "sort of tour around the world" by capturing the atmosphere at different ports, he explains.

As part of this project he spent a couple of weeks in Kochi soaking in the atmosphere of the port.

Besides creating comic books, he has also worked in advertising, designed CD covers and worked on design projects for magazines.

Cailleaux also works with pencils, inks, watercolours, acrylic paints and even instant coffee. Pointing to a set of drawings done while visiting some French-speaking countries in Africa, he reveals that he used Nescafe to create different shades of brown.

"Travel is important for me," he says, whose earlier comic books such as Le Café du Voyageur and Le Troisieme Thé are inspired by travel. In India for the first time, Cailleaux believes that there is something special about the country.

Over the past few weeks, he has visited 10 Indian cities conducting workshops on drawing and sharing ideas with local artists. From Thiruvananthapuram, he travels to Chennai, Pondicherry, Kolkata and New Delhi before returning home to France. However, he's already made plans to return to India by the end of the year.

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Slice of India in French comics

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