KOCHI: A lot of issues, comments and verbal duels during these elections gained attention. With the state awaiting results of the largest democratic exercise in the world, Kerala Cartoon Academy (KCA) has come up with a three-day-long exhibition ‘Chiripooram’ comprising cartoons and caricatures, which marks some of the major events during this election at Durbar Hall Art Gallery in Kochi.
The exhibition, which will be on till May 16, hosted 101 cartoons by 35 artists, which were published in different newspapers, magazines and social media profiles such as Mathrubhumi, Malayala Manorama, Deshabhimani, The Week and Troll Malayalam.
Kerala’s inclination towards the depiction of relevant and serious issues in satirical forms has established a very strong base for cartoons in the state. Be it the issue of Smriti Irani’s educational qualification, Priyanka Gandhi’s role in the elections, RaGa-NaMo verbal duels, everything holds a position in the exhibition. Also, the issue of electoral fraud in the state and caricatures of Lok Sabha candidates Hibi Eden, Alphons Kannanthanam and Kummanam Rajasekharan find a place in the event.
“This is the first event organised by KCA’s newly formed committee. What is special about this exhibition is its diversity,” said Thomas Antony, secretary of KCA. Since they are products by different cartoonists, there exists a vivid and divergent style in the exhibits. “These cartoons have been published in papers which have different political inclinations. So, the themes discussed and the styles used would be very much disparate. Therefore, the public can witness an unbiased display of cartoons here”, said Unnikrishnan K, chairman of KCA.
The cartoons also have dialogues or scenes of popular Malayalam movies merged together to discuss incidents such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivering dialogues of dance master Vikram from Chathikkaatha Chandu to justify his actions. “Political cartoons and cinema have always been Malayali’s fan favourites. Hence, it is not a surprise these overlap,” said Unnikrishnan. On Tuesday, Lok Sabha candidates Hibi Eden, P Rajeev and A N Radhakrishnan inaugurated the exhibition.