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In black and white

Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

FUNNY LINES K.R. Swamy’s cartoons focus on life and relationships

His first cartoon appeared in 1961. And it captured the magic of the monsoons. "My village Thirthahalli, a small town in Shimoga district is a rain-fed area. We receive six months of rain and it looks beautiful," says cartoonist K.R. Swamy.

Today his collection of published works in Kannada newspapers and magazines is a whopping 15,000 cartoons. And he says he is not a fulltime cartoonist. "Whenever I find a subject interesting, I just draw. And it gives me immense pleasure," says the artist.

He worked with Karnataka Electricity Board as an engineer for more than three decades and pursued cartooning as a hobby. On the current trend of cartoonists, he says: "We have plenty of artists. Technology makes work easier but what is lacking is originality. And, they have no fresh ideas. A combination of `drawing' and `literature' is what defines a cartoonist. He should have the ability to look at things with a `third eye' and a humorous mind."

A compilation of his cartoons that were published in various magazines are currently showcased at an ongoing exhibition "Laughter Dose" at the Indian Institute of Cartoonists. His cartoons bear an unmistakable stamp of humour, and at the same time they make you think. With a cartoon of a tree and birds, he puts across the issue of eating up of greenery and how it poses a threat to the survival of living species. He explores relationships in a series of cartoons - the meaning of love and how it matures with age.

Other cartoons reflect the growing divide between the rich and the poor (the waste thrown from a rich birthday party becomes the food of the poor), parking woes of Bangalore (a man parks his vehicle inside a shop), poor infrastructure of the city (especially during flooding) and the danger of talking over mobile phone while driving. Commentary on vaastu, the growing craze for television serials, buffets, exorbitant charges at star hotels (the hotel bill also charges for the salutes at the entrance) figure in his collection. "Though I have done political cartoons, my focus is more on life and relationships," says K.R. Swamy.

When he started, he closely followed S.K. Nadig's cartoons that appeared in Shankar's Weekly.

Later, a diploma from Raye Burns School of Cartooning, Cleveland in the U.S helped him master the art. "A cartoonist should have the ability to draw attention towards issues, be it political or social. His job is not just to make people laugh, but also to make them think."On exploring colours in his work, he says: "I am a black and white cartoonist, like old cinema. I am not interested in filling colours."

K.R. Swamy's cartoons have been compiled and published as two books. "Braham Gantu, Nage Noorentu" (Kannada) takes you through the concept of life, from college days to love, marriage, children and divorce. And the second one is a collection of his cartoons without captions, titled "Laughter Dose".

He can be contacted at krswamy@in.com

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