Governor P. Sathasivam honoured cartoonist Sukumar on Friday on the occasion of his 84th birthday. A book written by Sukumar on the cartooning history of Kerala was also released.
“At a time when satire and criticism are resented by some people, this gesture of honouring a cartoonist points to Kerala society’s respect for freedom of expression,” said Mr. Sathasivam.
Mr. Sukumar said that he spent two years for preparing the history of cartooning in Kerala.
He introduced to the crowd the family of the first cartoonist of Kerala, P.S. Govinda Pillai.
“It was from a worn-out copy of the first issue of the magazine Vidooshakan that I found the first cartoon ever published in the State, in October 1919. It was titled Maha kshama devatha and touched upon the drought situation,” said Mr. Sukumar.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member M.A. Baby said that cartoonists used the most limited of spaces to convey vast ideas.
“Sukumar practises oral cartooning too. He draws cartoons by way of speaking. Most of the brilliant cartoonists this country has seen hail from Kerala, from Abu Abraham to O.V. Vijayan,” said Mr. Baby.
