Portrait of a Cover Artist - Sabyasachi Chakma

Photo: Courtesy

Sabyasachi Chakma, a student of Veterinary Medicine from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, has always been passionate about drawing cartoons and illustrations. Born in Rangamati, he enjoyed reading comic books and often drew his favourite cartoon characters. Inspired by the likes of eminent artists Ahsan Habib and Mehedi Haque, he aimed to become a proficient cartoonist, joining Unmad, the popular humour magazine of Bangladesh, in 2015.

Sabyasachi is also a writer and a cover artist. His comic book Joom 1 was published by Dhaka Comics last year. This year, Joom 2, the sequel, hit the market and is on sale at the Ekushey Boi Mela.  The series, set in Rangamati, revolves around an indigenous superhero.“I developed the idea for Joom while watching a video of supernatural activities on the Internet,” explains Sabyasachi. “Although the story is set in my hometown, it is not based on my real life.” He has also worked on a few covers of books by Shishimpur, which are yet to be published. Besides, his works have been published in platforms like Kishor Alo, Rosh-Alo, Shopno Niye and Gollachut among others.

Sabyasachi further spoke about how he enjoys portraying the culture of Bangladesh in his stories. “We all grew up reading and loving DC and Marvel comics. But I believe that Bangladeshis too, have a lot to offer,” he says. The works of Asifur Rahman, Rumel Barua, Sadatuddin Ahmed Amil inspire him greatly. He also admires young artists Mahtab Rashid and Rakib Razzaq. Sabyasachi is optimistic about the prospects for the artists in Bangladesh. “We have many talented and driven artists. We just need to come together and take actions to develop our community,” says the young artist.