28 Facts About Mario Miranda

Mario Joao Carlos do Rosario de Brito Miranda, known as Mario de Miranda, was an Indian cartoonist and painter based in Loutolim, Goa.

Mario Miranda had been a regular with The Times of India and other newspapers in Bombay, including The Economic Times, though he got his popularity with his works published in The Illustrated Weekly of India.

Mario Miranda was awarded India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan in 2012.

Mario Joao Carlos do Rosario de Brito Miranda was born on 2 May 1926, in Damao, Portuguese India, to Goan Catholic parents.

Mario Miranda then began making personalised postcards for his friends, charging them a token amount, in the 1930s and 1940s.

Mario Miranda even started getting into trouble at school, for sketching Catholic priests.

Mario Miranda would maintain diaries from the age of 10, sketching the life around him.

Mario Miranda then began getting small commissions and would sketch people in his private diaries in 1949.

Mario Miranda loved good food and red wine in moderation but would mainly visit eateries and taverns to document the lives of the patrons.

Mario Miranda got his first break as a cartoonist with The Illustrated Weekly of India which published a few of his works.

Mario Miranda then won a grant by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and lived in Portugal for year, helping him "broaden his horizons".

Mario Miranda then moved to London, working for different newspapers and even working in television animation.

Mario Miranda then travelled to many countries, either working or conducting exhibitions.

Mario Miranda held solo exhibitions in over 22 countries, including the United States, Japan, Brazil, Australia, Singapore, France, Yugoslavia, and Portugal.

On 11 December 2011, Mario Miranda died of natural causes at his home in Loutolim.

Mario Miranda's body was then taken to the Hindu crematorium at Pajifond in Margao, where his pyre was lit by his younger son Rishaad as per his wishes.

Mario Miranda created characters that gave his daily audience their quota of a smile without malice.

Mario Miranda would observe people everywhere and document their social life.

Besides cartooning, Mario Miranda's murals are present on various buildings in Goa and other parts of India.

Mario Miranda illustrated many children's books, including Dul-Dul, The Magic Clay Horse, The Adventures of Pilla the Pup, and Lumbdoom, The Long-Tailed Langoor, all written by Uma Anand and published by India Book House, Mumbai, under its Echo imprint.

Mario Miranda illustrated for Balbharati textbooks by MSBTPCR in the 1970s.

Mario Miranda loved to travel and listening to music and it was his ambition to experiment further with water colours and to write memories of his early years in Goa, on retirement.

Mario Miranda was not able to fulfil these two latter ambitions.

Mario Miranda recalls how during his visit, he was told of how one of Miranda's ancestors accidentally killed the wrong Rane during the Revolt of the Ranes in Goa, a story which inspired him to make the film.

In 2005, Gerard da Cunha began working on a book on the artist and collected 13,000 of Mario Miranda's works, tracking them down through various sources.

In 1988, Mario Miranda was featured in the national integration "Mile Sur Mera Tumhara" video, which included multiple notable Indians in arts, films, literature, music, and sports.

Mario Miranda was awarded the Padma Shri in 1988, the Padma Bhushan in 2002 and All India Cartoonists's Association, Bangalore, honoured him with a lifetime achievement award.

Mario Miranda was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, by the President of India on 4 April 2012.