The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : City remembers its woman cartoonist

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Tuesday, May 20, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

City remembers its woman cartoonist

Staff Reporter

— Photo: K. Gopinathan

A cartoon on display at the Indian Institute of Cartoonists exhibition with cartoons by Maya Kamath in Bangalore on Monday.

BANGALORE: From political satire, snapshots from everyday life to taking pot-shots at civic authorities; the harried Indian woman, the stereotypical politician or the manipulative bureaucrat — all of them were brought to life by the bold strokes of late cartoonist Maya Kamath.

The common man’s predicaments and pathos were spiked with gentle satire as India’s only woman political cartoonist trod the fine line between humour and realism.

Exhibition

Her work is on display at the Indian Cartoon Gallery in Bangalore until May 31. Years after her demise, all the themes are as relevant, if not more, and the collection on display is a fair assortment of topics varying from depictions of childlike humour to societal evils such as sati and gender discrimination.

Her work, although firmly rooted in her identity as a woman and gender-sensitive issues, is humorous and even forces the audience to break into a giggle.

Ms. Kamath, who died of cancer, worked as a freelance cartoonist for newspapers. Amarnath Kamath, her husband, announced that the family, starting this year, would set up an award for three best political cartoons in India and one for the best budding cartoonist of the year. The awards would be chosen and selected by the Indian Institute of Cartoonists.

The exhibition was inaugurated by playwright Girish Karnad and author Shashi Deshpande. The two expressed their affection for Ms. Kamath and their respect for her work. Describing her as a bold artist who battled it out in a male-dominated world, Mr. Karnad recalled her cartoon where she depicted Naipaul as having been given the Nobel Prize for attacking Muslims.

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