The genius of Mario Miranda, one of the finest chroniclers of human activity and emotion that this country has produced, was apparent at an early age. In school, his teacher, Alec Alvares, conducted a demonstration on the workings of invisible ink. Then, he asked students to try making invisible ink themselves and bring back a few words written with it to class the next day. While sifting through the messages that appeared on paper under a glow lamp, he chanced upon a sheet where he saw his own caricature appear. Shocked, he demanded to know who the artist was, and Miranda admitted to it.

Today, for the first time, an auction of his works will take place. Titled The World of Mario, it is being conducted on StoryLTD, a sister website of the auction house Saffronart. The auction has been three years in the making, says Gerard da Cunha, curator of the Mario Gallery. "But the lockdown proved to be a good time to do this since we had time to plan over the last two weeks," he tells us from Goa.