Comics As Witness
a one-day event conceptualised by Vidyun Sabhaney and Orijit Sen
Saturday, 14 March 2026
2:30 PM onwards
At FICA Reading Room
‘Comics As Witness’ is an event that marks ten years since the publication of First Hand, and has been conceptualized by Vidyun Sabhaney and Orijit Sen.
Honouring the collective nature of anthologies, we are bringing together comics creators, publishers, libraries, distributors and editors across varied contexts together to discuss readers and cultures of readership in India. The event, held in collaboration with Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art and the Embassy of Switzerland in India and Bhutan, will also feature contributors and works from First Hand: Graphic Non-Fiction From India (2016) and its follow-up, First Hand: Exclusion (2018). Via a panel discussion and presentation, we will explore non-fiction comics practice, how it is evolving, and drawing for non-fiction.
2:30 PM – 4:30 PM: Drawn to Comics: The World of Readers
A roundtable featuring creators, publishers, organisers, libraries, and distributors which seeks to understand comic book readers and reading cultures.
Orijit Sen, Comixense Magazine | Mahima, Mehrauli Community Library | Aniceto Pereira, Shivangi Singh, and Shikhant Sablania, Indie Comix Fest | Unkoolie, Indy Comics Commune | Sumit Kumar, Bakarmax | Bidisha Mahanta, Zubaan Books | Rakesh Khanna, Blaft Publications | Christoph Schuler and Pierre Thome, Strapazin Magazine | Moderator: Vidyun Sabhaney
5:30 PM – 7:30 PM: First Hand: Non-fiction Storytelling & Comics
An evening that reflects upon the First Hand anthologies, and non-fiction comics practice.
Panel discussion on the genre of non-fiction comics
Anupam Arunachalam, Dr. A.P. Payal, Ikroop Sandhu, Ita Mehrotra, and Orijit Sen | Moderator: Vidyun Sabhaney
A presentation on drawing for non-fiction comics by Orijit Sen, featuring a walkthrough of the First Hand books and audience questions with contributors.
A note on publishing graphic novels by Arpita Das
Poster credits: Anupam Arunachalam
The event will be held at the FICA Reading Room:
F-213/E-2, 2nd Floor, Old MB Road, Lado Sarai, New Delhi
If you are not able to attend in person, please register for the online session via this link.
Please note: registration is not required for in-person attendees but seating is limited and will be provided on a first come, first served basis.
About the facilitators:
Vidyun Sabhaney is a comics artist based in New Delhi. She edited and co-edited the First Hand anthology series (Yoda Press; 2016, 2018), which sought to create a platform for non-fiction comics storytelling in India. She was the founder-publisher of Captain Bijli Comics (2012), an artist-led publishing project which enabled collaboration, distribution and storytelling in the medium of comics. She was also a co-editor of the Drawing Resistance series (2020, 2021), a self-published bilingual publication with two issues. Her own work has been published by Penguin India, Leftword Books, Yoda Press, Blaft Publications Pvt. Ltd., Comixense Magazine, Zubaan Books, COMIX.INDIA, Indian Quarterly, Scroll.in, CQFD Journal, Blue Jackal, Chintha Books and Pratham Books. Her comics have been exhibited in Germany, the UAE, the USA and India. Her most recent book-length work is a collaborative graphic novel ‘Food & Farming: A Journey Through India In Comics’ (Leftword Books, 2024; Chintha Books, 2025). She is currently co-editing Turn The Page: Illustrating India's Comics Scenes, a monograph in which creators and scholars come together to document and reflect upon comics practice in India. Her interest as a storyteller lies in ecology, feminism and resistance.
Orijit Sen is an Indian graphic artist, designer, muralist, artivist, and social documentarian. His expansive body of work includes murals, public art, comics, and graphic design, and has been extensively published, exhibited and installed in India as well as internationally. His groundbreaking River of Stories (1994), considered the country’s first English language graphic novel, laid the foundation for India’s contemporary comics culture. Grounded in political insight and keen observation, Orijit’s art reimagines real events and lived experiences as fantastical, dreamlike narratives that provoke dialogue through wit and satirical humour.