Brown Paperbag is the name of a series of comics about what it's like growing up in an Indian family. They were created by Sailesh Gopalan, a 21-year-old design student from Mumbai who studies at the Srishti School of Art Design and Technology in Bangalore, and since the comics first appeared in June 2016 they've already amassed a collective following of over 150k people.
The artist describes his comics as "a slice-of-life comedy webcomic aimed at highlighting the ironies and exploiting the stereotypes that prevail in Indian families and society in a satirical fashion," and as you can see from the collection below, they touch upon everything from traditional weddings and clothing etiquette to superstitious moms and embarrassing fathers. Don’t forget to vote for your favourite!
“I've always been interested in drawing comics,” Sailesh told Bored Panda. “I used to fill up my drawing books with my own comics as a kid, and that interest never died out. My biggest inspiration is the manga artist Eiichiro Oda, author of One Piece. When it comes to webcomics, it's Shen, author of Bluechair and Owlturd Comix, as well as Sarah Andersen of Sarah's Scribbles.” When asked what sort of advice he’d give to anybody thinking about starting their own webcomic, Sailesh said “Upload! Don't let your inhibitions keep you from sharing your work with the world. I had no idea my comics would receive the response it did, and the only way I could know is if I put it up on the internet.”
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Exposé
Play the Blame Game, Blame the Game Play
Pryvacy
Profeign
Appa-rel
Confidon't
Cop a Feel
Empathy-patnee
Didn't Work Out
Follow My Dreams, Son
MissTrust
Bargain or Loss
This is sad.. We don't bargain when it's about branded expensive objects but for sellers on the streets we will bargain even when it's cheap compared to what we buy in the malls...
Pee-dee-ay
Load Rash
Mucho Guesto
Practise What You Teach
This happened in my school too. The teacher said "class time is my time". Ehhh
Can't Be Left Alone
*was a bunch of nonsense* Edit: dont discriminate :)
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It is so weird how humans feel the need to have hangups about the simplest things! I can understand it from a hygene reason originally but out of superstition in this day and age - c'mon! My bro is a leftie but luckily, we never lived in a place where that was considered weird
my younger sister is a left handed but my parents want her to used her right handed if she eating and giving money or getting the money, other than that, she use her left handed.
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It's a funny comic and all, but it is still pretty normal to use the left hand instead of toilet paper. Maybe there is some superstition to it, but it is still very much for hygene. The guy making these comments might have a toilet and toilet paper, but the people judging him might not.
Yes, it does. I was eating lavas (I'm left handed) and I was scolded by an old man, even though he knew I was a foreigner :(
Load More Replies... I'm not Indian but a Moslem, a left-handed since birth and up until now still use tools and eat with my left hand. This comic pretty much sums up my life. Good thing is my family doesn't treat me like an oddball, so I can be strong facing society :)
Yeah, ok, however eating is the only one where it would make any difference if you're using a dominant hand or the other. And even that isn't really a big deal.
This is so true, I'm an indian and a lefty but I was forced to do everything with my right hand, I even had to change the hand I write with because it was not religiously "appropriate" to write with my left hand🤦🏻♀️
Not that much if you think about it. People don't usually know that he's left-handed and in India, you use water with your left hand, so it's usually seen as "dirty". It's more about hygiene.
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don't worry man, I'm a lefty too, and I can do many things with my righty, like eating, shooting free kicks..... it is just about practice, it is good to be able to use them both, helps you develop more stuff
It's used to wipe with water after doing your business.
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Tradishunned
Escapegoat
Omg I do this to my dad all the time! Anything to save myself from mom's wrath.
Blooperstition
That's an odd superstition. A lot of people do grooming at night where I live (Canada).
You've Goatee Be Kidding Me
Shareolder
I'd rather have the grandma. I got my sister as my roomate and she never let me sleep!
Technapology
Maidriarchy
Turmedic
Chat's What I'm Talking About
Maid 'Fore Each Other
Lies and Receipt
I bought one of those bags back in my hometown and the next time I went to the store with my bag, they wouldn't let me get in with it 😒 They gave me everything in plastic bags and I had to put them all on the green bag that the security guard kept for me back at the entrance. Stupid af
Passive-Aggressive
true.. and then they even throw them on the ground when they are done. The police should arrest people like that.
Crossroads
Focus-Pocus
Days of Feature Past
Stray Hungry, Stray Foolish
Outfit In
Late Night Shenanigans
Mint Money
Same in Iran 😒 I always ask for chewing gums. At least they don't taste like chemically flavored sugar.
Xmas Xploit
Priorities
I never realize how little people care about cricket in much of the west until I hear the Indians talk about it.
Diplomadness
my dad got his nose broken by his friend on accident when he tried to stop a fight
Happy Birthday
Birthday. Before - you get presents, everybody buys you sweets, you are a happiest thing in the Earth. Now - You have to invite and entertain guests, buy them sweets, take care if they get drunk or if they vomit. (Atleast you get presents.)
Heat and Run
I hope that accent is of Raj from TBBT and not of Appu from The Simpsons. Because we surely don't sound like the latter.
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Haha very accurate ! Especially the ones about the parents.... Im actually from Pakistan but its same here as in India.... well done mate...
It's so sad that this is the reality and I couldn't laugh at them... Just couldn't ..
After a long gap someone thought about india and I'm happy with this
I laughed not only because it's hilariously relatable but based on my observation, there's 90-95% resemblance in my culture (Filipino). But you know what, you DON'T HAVE TO FEEL ASHAMED of "some" of them. They're INTERESTING. It somewhat makes a certain country "DISTINCTIVE". If we have uniform culture, then it would be a boring world. Just eliminate the UNPLEASANT culture and maintain the HARMLESS ones.
This is so true... Being an Indian i can so connect with these easily... Can't show my parents though
I love these comics, it cuts right through the language barrier and shows us Indian culture in a brutal and honest way. Lots that make us similar rather than divides us.
Not entirely sure why this is Indian, when it's probably any family anywhere.
Not any news. This country is the last on earth I will set foot, if ever.
Fine, but why title every single one of them the very same thing, aka "Indian Family Comics"?
You must have a lot of fantasy and endless mental stamina. That's great. But not everyone's got super powers.
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I hope that accent is of Raj from TBBT and not of Appu from The Simpsons. Because we surely don't sound like the latter.
Load More Replies... Haha very accurate ! Especially the ones about the parents.... Im actually from Pakistan but its same here as in India.... well done mate...
It's so sad that this is the reality and I couldn't laugh at them... Just couldn't ..
After a long gap someone thought about india and I'm happy with this
I laughed not only because it's hilariously relatable but based on my observation, there's 90-95% resemblance in my culture (Filipino). But you know what, you DON'T HAVE TO FEEL ASHAMED of "some" of them. They're INTERESTING. It somewhat makes a certain country "DISTINCTIVE". If we have uniform culture, then it would be a boring world. Just eliminate the UNPLEASANT culture and maintain the HARMLESS ones.
This is so true... Being an Indian i can so connect with these easily... Can't show my parents though
I love these comics, it cuts right through the language barrier and shows us Indian culture in a brutal and honest way. Lots that make us similar rather than divides us.
Not entirely sure why this is Indian, when it's probably any family anywhere.
Not any news. This country is the last on earth I will set foot, if ever.
Fine, but why title every single one of them the very same thing, aka "Indian Family Comics"?
You must have a lot of fantasy and endless mental stamina. That's great. But not everyone's got super powers.
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