Congruence through 'Difference': The Conflict of Universality in Amruta Patil's Kari and Sarnath Banerjee's Corridor

Scott McCloud’s assertion that comics have the potential to act as a universal language by bridging cultural and linguistic gaps raises important questions about the nature of visual communication within the graphic medium. This essay attempts to explore these questions by focusing on two graphic novels, Amruta Patil's Kari and Sarnath Banerjee's Corridor, examining how these narratives encapsulate subjective experiences by locating the characters within a broader thematic framework. It seeks to explore how these novels represent the constrained condition of living within a specific geography and culture, where the global psychogeographic space often intervenes with the porous boundary of the immediate space. It argues that these novels depict the characters’ quest to transcend the confines of the tangible world. It will also interrogate how the visual tools unique to the graphic medium contribute to the portrayal of the figure of the outsider, who is constantly negotiating their identity with the ideal, and the way this 'living with difference' shapes how they make sense of the world.