When Santha was a child, she would enjoy watching her father, the cartoonist Shankar, work. “The expressions on his face indicated the mood of the cartoons,” says the Delhi-based Santha. “If the character was laughing, my father’s face brightened. Similarly, he looked angry when he drew an angry cartoon. So I would keenly observe my father’s face.”
Santha wore a look of pride on her face during the inauguration of the first-ever cartoon museum in Kerala, at Athirchira near Krishnapuram, by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in July. This is a tribute to Shankar (1902-1989), the legendary political cartoonist.
The brainchild of the Kayamkulam MLA C K Sadasivan, the 15,000 sq ft museum has been built at a cost of `3 crore, with the help of the state government as well as the Lalit Kala Akademi.
Plans to expand the museum are now afoot. “The state government will be setting up a cultural centre,” says Sadasivan.
“Another `3 crore has been sanctioned for a swimming pool, park and open-air auditorium. This is the dream of the people of Kayamkulam to honour their most famous son.”
Krishnapuram in Kayamkulam is the place where Shankar was born and spent his early years. And he is remembered fondly. “When Sankar uncle came home, he would draw village sketches and give it to his family members and friends,” says Unni Pillai, a nephew. “He always had good relations with neighbors and labourers and often helped them with money.”
The tiled floors inside are gleaming, much like the freshly painted walls that display Shankar’s cartoons in glass frames. There is a wooden armchair placed on a white platform and two schoolgirls stare at it, as if picturing the cartoonist sitting on it at work.
What is striking is a long lamp, placed on rollers, which hovers over the wooden desk where Shankar used to work. You can also see the pen, spectacles, and clothes that he wore. And not to forget his magazine, Shankar’s Weekly, whose first issue was released, in 1948, by none other than India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
But this did not prevent Shankar from doing cartoons on Nehru, even though they were close friends. One such cartoon depicts Nehru rubber stamping bills and the stamp he uses is made of the Parliament building.
Shankar sketched about 1,500 cartoons of the former prime minister between 1945 and 1964. And it is to Nehru’s credit that he never took offence.
Shankar may be a tough, unsparing cartoonist, but he was soft, when it came to children and loved them dearly much like his friend Nehru. One section of this museum is devoted to his dolls. “Shankar had a large collection and a few dolls have been donated to us by his daughters,” says Sadasivan.
This is part of Shankar’s International Doll Museum in New Delhi, which was set up on November 30, 1965, and has one of the largest collections in the world.
In another section, there is an art gallery which contains paintings of the winners of the International Shankar Memorial Painting Competition. There are paintings by children from 30 countries.
There are also caricatures of personalities like Charlie Chaplin, Mao Zedong, Rabindranath Tagore and Indira Gandhi. In addition, a colour portrait of Nehru is also on display.
And, quite sportingly, the works of other cartoonists are also up on display at the museum. These include drawings by Kutty, O V Vjiayan, Samuel and Abu Abraham.
“This museum is a treat for the lovers of cartoons and a befitting tribute to the cartoonist,” says Omer Farook, a visitor.
“Shankar and Shankar’s Weekly are famous, but I was not aware that his birthplace is in Krishnapuram. I have no doubts that the museum will become a major tourist destination,” he says.
S Rajan, assistant exhibition officer of the Akademi, says, “We have tried to incorporate everything related to Shankar and are planning to get more items in the coming months.”