It is said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi works tirelessly round the clock. A section of the media can barely rest too, thanks to a new ...
It is said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi works tirelessly round the clock. A section of the media can barely rest too, thanks to a new feature of Modi’s public image: his snow-white, lush and seemingly ever-lengthening beard.
Modi’s beard has been one of the most striking features of 2020. Drawings made before the coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing national lockdown in March have had to be discarded over the past few months to more accurately reflect the leader’s latest sage-like image.
“The white beard that has begun to flow during the lockdown gives his carriage a sage-like appearance,” journalist Saba Naqvi noted in an essay for Scroll.in. “…Modi’s greatest talent lies in understanding the audience. His image calibration has therefore been a work in progress for two decades. Increasingly, these days the images that Modi chooses to present the world touch subliminal buttons – saffron, sage, penance, service and so on.”
How have cartoonists responded to this latest element in Modi’s ever-evolving public persona? Scroll.in asked three commentators for their views on Modi Before and Modi Now.
EP Unny, ‘The Indian Express’
“Narendra Modi’s beard has reached Tagorean proportions. Let us see what happens to it after the Bengal polls. And the hair is getting longer too. We cartoonists have to keep...
