Art of Delight, a dessert cafe on Residency Road, is currently home to the artworks of cartoonist Balraj KN. The exhibition, titled One Night In Humourland, features a collection of cartoons by the artist.
“I am perpetually curious about what is happening around me. If something strikes me, I try to capture it with a drawing or a couple of lines,” explains Balraj, who has been drawing “ever since childhood.” He now specialises in political and office humour. He does not believe text is an important part of drawings. “But, I figured that sometimes to ideate thoughts you need a direction. For which you need context and hence the text,” he says adding, “A text-free drawing can be perceived differently by different people. This is where drawing and cartooning slowly drifts into being art. Art is open to interpretation.”
A thought, he says, can germinate from anywhere — from what we observe, read or hear. “I come up with two to three lines, put it up on FB and get a lot of reactions to it. Sometimes based on those reactions I come up with a drawing. I have also faced backlash for some of my cartoons, especially political ones. People have trolled me on Twitter and given negative comments. If you believe in something sincerely, you have to be bold enough to say it.”
Balraj says cartooning is not a mainstream profession and is not as popular as it should be in India. “In fact, some people tell me cartooning is dying. Personally, I am not trying to build an industry out of this. I am just doing my bit towards the society.”
He believes that people don’t take cartooning seriously. Others take it too seriously and take offence. They take out their frustration by criticising the art work.
Talking about his sources of inspiration, he says, “I had constant Wi-Fi problems and made cartoons about it. Another common problem that people face – Monday morning blues, I have quite a few cartoons on that too.” He adds that he is also inspired by the works by international cartoonists.
Even art, says Balraj, has moved on with times. “For instance, I started drawing on a paper with a pen or pencil and now have moved on with technology. I draw using my electronic drawing tablet.”
He also believes that society needs creative people to hold a mirror to show what is happening around them. He adds artists sometimes act as that mirror. “Cartooning is like a spicy pickle. It makes people laugh, cry, angry and also think.”
Balraj’s cartoons will be on till April 23.
