BANGALORE: For the city's cartoon buffs, the Indian Institute of Cartoonists has big plans. Fifteen days from now, the institute will open an exclusive cartoons gallery on Mahatma Gandhi Road here and also look out for a permanent gallery at the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) junction with the Peripheral Ring Road at Sompura.

The Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise Limited (NICE) will provide the infrastructure inside its proposed 300-acre film city. But that is not something that is immediate.

What is current is a website (www.cartoonistsindia.com) launched on Saturday by NICE managing director and the institute's honorary chairman Ashok Kheny.

The portal features the history of cartoons in India, works of well-known cartoonists such as Mario Miranda, R.K. Laxman, Shankar, Unny, Keshav, M.S. Mohan Chandran, V.G. Narendra and B.G. Gujjarappa, aims and objectives of the institute and its achievements.

There is also a section on the works of late cartoonists such as Rama Murthy and Maya Kamath.

The institute's gallery on M.G. Road will feature an exhibition of cartoons by Mr. Mario Miranda during its launch.

The gallery, according to Mr. Narendra, is part of a plan to make Bangalore the cartoon capital of the country. The institute has proposed annual awards and Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in cartooning in India, the awardees for which will be selected by a jury of eminent citizens.

Among other plans is a chain of cartoon galleries in Bangalore and other cities, cartoon exhibitions, and building a House of Cartoons that will include an exhibition hall, library, auditorium and picture hall.

Also on the anvil is a museum of original cartoons, and clay models of cartoon characters.

The institute will also collect books and comics for the cartoon library to make it a reference point for young cartoonists and researchers; organise endowment lectures and programmes; conduct cartoon workshops and lectures and demonstrations by leading cartoonists.

A monthly magazine in English is also being planned by the institute.

The Indian Institute of Cartoonists has been set up to promote the art of cartooning in the country.

The institute, based in Bangalore, aims to recognise talent in the field and reward them, showcase and preserve their art for future generations, guide young and budding cartoonists and above all, popularise the art among the masses.

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