KOCHI: Ever since he was a child, Jithesh S was fascinated by speed. It was watching the play of lightning across the sky that spurred him to create artworks fast. “While I was young, I would eagerly watch the sky when lightning struck. You can see a variety of abstract art being created in the dark canvas of sky,” says Jithesh, who is known for his speed cartoons. Jithesh proudly flaunts the tag of being recognised as the world’s fastest cartoonist.
A few days ago, a video of him creating cartoons of over 50 personalities in five minutes went viral on social media. The video crossed a million views in five days. It was an impromptu performance, Jithesh says. He was just creating cartoons ahead of the inauguration of an artist’s studio in Changanassery. The video has him creating cartoons with both hands. “The portion that has gone viral is just a segment of the art form Varayarangu which I created years ago. It is with the Vegavara (speed cartoon) that I start the stage performance Varayarangu. It is an infotainment art form which blends of poetry, anecdotes and socio-political satire with high-speed drawing,” says Jithesh.
The Varayarangu stage art was created by him a decade ago. It has metamorphosised into a full-fledged art form where the work is given life. “I might be working on a cartoon of Mahatma Gandhi and soon you see him walking out of the cartoon. We have hired a few lookalikes of famous personalities and they also become part of the stage performance. All cartoons have a narrative where the historical aspects and significance of the personalities get featured,” says Jithesh.
Enamoured by the cartoons of Yesudasan and the way the cartoonist drew E M S Namboodiripad, Jithesh started cartooning when he was in Class I. An ambidextrous cartoonist, Jithesh says even whilst young, he would use both his hands to draw. And rather than paintings, he was smitten by creating cartoons and illustrations. “I believe that if you train yourself from your younger days, you can use both hands with ease,” he says.
He says it is pictorial speech that he brings forth through Varayarangu. “It is a new style of elocution concept. Moreover, pictures have a universal language. So you can communicate well with people,” he says. It is sheer perseverance and a passion towards cartooning and line sketches that helped Jithesh earn accolades.
“I am experimenting now in bringing more life into the cartoons,” he says.