Mumbai based graphic novel seeks crowdfunding from around the world

Four teenage street kids have a new hangout in the city near a wall - the lone survivor of a razed slum. One of the boys nicknames himself Grafity and the wall becomes his canvas to paint the city as he sees it. UK-based Ram Venkatesan, writer of Grafity's Wall, says the idea struck him at a talk on street art at the London Design Festival last year. "I wanted to tell a story about characters involved in street art. Later, at the Mumbai Comic Con, Anand (Radhakrishnan, illustrator) expressed desire to work on something set in Mumbai," he says. Venkatesan then collaborated with Radhakrishnan, letterer Aditya Bidikar, colourist Irma Kniivila, and crowdfunded publishing house Unbound.

Through the Mumbai lens
Venkatesan was born and has lived in Mumbai for nearly 25 years, and while the city has inspired both his graphic novels (his previous was Black Mumba), the lenses are drastically different. In his words, Black Mumba looks at the city as a dark, brooding and severe place, and struggles to find a vein of beauty even in its less-than-flattering image. Grafity's Wall is the complete opposite. "It is colourful, busy, crammed and, sometimes, overwhelmingly so."

Just like Black Mumba, Grafity's Wall will also be crowdfunded, and Venkatesan shares that this is a conscious choice. He is also quick to clarify that the crowdfunding part finances the creation and a small limited edition print run. Following that, Unbound takes on the role of a more traditional publisher. The writer is in favour of crowdfunding because, as he puts it, "you get to engage your readers even before you complete the book. It's heartening to have support and enthusiasm as you're working on it. You promise to make a good book. They promise to give you the backing you need to make it."

Crowdfunding rewards
The desi arm of crowdfunding will be routed through online magazine Helter Skelter. Readers who place pledges will receive a copy of the graphic novel when printed next year. "We wanted to support the project and readers from India wanted that, too.

Arun Kale

That's how this collaborative crowdfunding came into the picture," explains editor Arun Kale. According to him, crowdfunding works because "people are putting their money where their mouth is. The viability of a project is clear before the final product is out."

Ram Venkatesan

The one thing that struck us as slightly out of place is the name Grafity being used by a kid living on Mumbai streets. To this, Venkatesan says: "These things exist. They go unnoticed because they aren't in the mainstream. The 'next big thing' is rapping right now in some lonely garage, wearing a hoodie in the Mumbai summer, spitting rhymes into a make-believe microphone. And they call themselves all sorts of obscure and outlandish names that'll be on everyone's lips a few years from now. I'm writing that story."

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