Remembering Mario Miranda and his sketches that always smile back

I knew Mario Miranda long before I met him. That’s no idle boast and it’s possible for many others to so claim. Fact is, many others can state that they knew him without ever meeting him. It’s possible because Mario Miranda is known through his work. He drew, we smiled; he created a world through pen and ink, we identified with it. His whimsical pen strokes captured Goa — its markets, taverns, street scenes, feasts, festivals — with colourful characters. His boundless imagination fueled our childish and adult fancies.

May 2, 2026, is the 100^th birth anniversary of Mario, and Goa rightly celebrates the centenary of one of its most famous sons. On this day, Mario returns to life as his playful, satirical and profoundly human sketches will be out on display at exhibitions — three that I know of — marking the 100^th year of his birth.

I, for one, am looking forward to seeing some Mario originals, for his work is one of those that gets richer the more you look at it. You glance at it, find a reason to smile and then, you look away hungry for the next, but that’s not what you should be doing, for the longer you look at each, the more you discover of a world that Mario created and that increasingly came to depict Goa.

Those lively characters and crowded scenes, or the quaint depictions where he captured humour in everyday situations, whether it was village life, taverns, markets, beaches and households, they are drawings that in one picture hold many stories. For instance, a tavern scene could be a crowded bar with people talking to and over each other, musicians in a corner, a waiter juggling trays, animals coming in the way. It’s chaotic, yet relaxing to look at.

But, was Mario a cartoonist or an artist? When posed this question once, he, in his inimitable style, said, ‘The problem with me is that I’m not sure whether I’m a cartoonist or I’m a straight artist. I’m in between.’ It really didn’t matter, for if he didn’t know, then his fans didn’t need to know either, they just enjoyed the work he produced, smiled and laughed.

That is what Mario excelled in — bringing a smile onto people’s faces. And yet, his cartoons did not require punchlines, like most cartoonists use today. He rarely, if ever, used the written word. The scene and the characters he sketched were enough for the reader to understand and appreciate the drawing.

In his cartoons, the scenes could be exaggerated, but were never insulting. Goans saw the humour in the drawings and tourists came to identify Goa through them. Mario exhibited internationally, worked with major publications, and here, he took Goan characters and culture, presenting them to people who had not seen either.

Mario went on to be decorated with the Padma Bhushan, but unassuming as he always was, he had said at that time, ‘I must say that there are others who are much more deserving than me… I wish that with the Padma Bhushan, or even the Padma Shri, I could be of more use to Goa. I may be a Padma Bhushan awardee, but I don’t think anything changes, as far as I know.’ Not much possibly changed for Mario after that. He continued drawing, bringing those smiles of delight to the thousands who saw his work.

The fact that his birth centenary is being celebrated in the state is indicative that his memory lives on, that he is an enduring cultural symbol of Goa. The government has assured a museum in his honour, his work is still used in public art, design and branding. He most certainly is one of Goa’s precious sons.

And, oh yes, I did meet him. Me, a young journalist; he an established, world-famous artist, and yet, none of that seemed to have affected him. Much later, I would interview him and two of these interviews remain etched in memory. The first of these was when he was selected as Goa Today’s Man Of The Year in 1998. The interview setting was Mario seated in front of his mural at Mayfair Hotel in Panjim. Could anything be better? Well it was, for the second of these was at his home in Loutolim, and for the Portuguese television channel series Contacto Goa.

So, I knew him before knowing him, and now I’m looking forward to renewing those ties on his birth centenary, as I stand in front of his art and smile with him.

The writer is a senior journalist, author and editor