Rafiqun Nabi | |
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রফিকুন নবী | |
.JPG) Nabi in 2011 | |
| Born | (1943-11-28)28 November 1943 (age 81) Chapai Nawabganj,Bengal Presidency, British India |
| Nationality | Bangladeshi |
| Other names | Ranabi |
| Alma mater | East Pakistan College of Arts and Crafts |
| Occupation(s) | Artist, cartoonist |
| Years active | 1964–present |
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Rafiqun Nabi (born 28 November 1943), better known asRanabi, is a Bangladeshi artist and cartoonist. He is best known for creatingTokai, a character symbolizing the poor street boys ofDhaka who lives on picking things from dustbins or begging and having a knack of telling simple yet painful truths about current political and socio-economic situation of the country.[1][2] He was awardedEkushey Padak in 1993 by thegovernment of Bangladesh.[3]
Nabi was born in Nawabganj District in India (now in northwest Bangladesh) in 1943.[4] He started drawing in his childhood. In the early 1950s, his father took him to a painting exhibition, held at the then Bardhaman House (nowBangla Academy).[1] He completed his bachelor's and master's from the East Pakistan College of Arts and Crafts (nowFaculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka).[1] He studied under the supervision of artists likeZainul Abedin andQuamrul Hassan. He received a scholarship from the Asia Foundation between 1962 and 1964.[citation needed] During 1973–1976, he studied printmaking inAthens School of Fine Arts under the Greek Government's postgraduate scholarship.[1]
Nabi served as a faculty member of Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka during 1964–2010.[5][4]
Nabi started out as a professional cartoonist in 1963.[6] His first contribution was to Weekly Purbodesh. Later in the mid 1960s, he became a regular in Shochitro Shandhani where he used to illustrate with cartoons the columnKaal Penchar Dairy by Abdul Gani Hazari.[6] In the late 1960s, he worked for theWeekly Express, an English periodical. During 1969, he got involved in a periodical namedForum, published byRehman Sobhan and Hamida Hossain.[6]
Nabi returned from Greece in 1976. He began to contribute cartoons to theWeeklyBichitra andDainik Bangla. He created the characterTokai, which first appeared in the anniversary issue ofBichitra in May 1977.[6]
Although more well-known as a book cover designer and cartoonist, Rafiqun Nabi is now a leading pictographist of the country, especially after his overseas training. He arranges his subjects somewhat in folk and somewhat in geometric styles.
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