The weapons of choice for this cartoonist are pen, pencil, paper and Photoshop. Armed with these, P. Narasimha has been taking a stab at the reality of urban life, politicians and Indian society for dozens of years. Come Saturday, visitors can check out his political cartoons at ICCR Art Gallery near Ravindra Bharathi.
Child labourer
“I worked as a child labourer at a liquor shop at Miryalguda in Nalgonda district where I had to safeguard big jars of liquor during their transport. The rickshaw-puller would talk to me about his children and their education. Then, I ran away from home and began my schooling as a class IV student. Later, I started making signboards and then took to drawing. One thing led to another and here I am,” says P. Narasimha, who now signs his cartoons as Narsim.
In the election season, the cartoons are a reminder of the eternal nature of art. If some of the cartoons poke fun at former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, others rub it in gently on the role of K. Chandrasekhar Rao, N. Chandrababu Naidu, Jayalalitha and a host of other leaders in politics in India.
“Once an idea strikes me, it takes me about two hours to finish a cartoon. Nowadays, I use Photoshop to colour and touch up the cartoons,” says Mr. Narasimha, who has worked for a number of Telugu newspapers and had a long stint with a national magazine.
He currently works for a regional daily.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the easiest to draw. A few dots for the beard, a few dots for the hair and a few lines for his cheeks,” he says about one of his favourite muses.
The exhibition would be inaugurated by V. Srinivas Goud, Minister for Prohibition and Excise, on Saturday evening.
