Cartooning away the blues – Kamala Kant Rath

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Dec 30:

Cartoonists are a special class, and have the astounding charm of depicting even the dullest moment of life with a cheerful message. They are experts in bringing out a smile on the face of readers, in unlikely of circumstances. India has been gifted with many such talented cartoonists and they have been loved and adored by people. Odisha has its own home grown genius cartoonist -Kamala Kant Rath. KK to all his friends, he is a powerhouse of wit-cum-humour and his cartoons tickle ribs leaving the readers giggling, smiling and guffawing. An expert in illustrations, graphics and digital art, KK sincerely believes that passion and practice makes a person thorough, whatever the profession.

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Born in Jamshedpur, he was crazy about cars and from the tender age of three, started sketching Cadillac, Plymouth, Ford, Maruti –every make of car which came his way. While completing graduation  in 1991, KK was bedridden due to a bad spate of illness. Not to be daunted he utilized his time by creating cartoons for magazines and newspapers. His first cartoon was published in City Consumer, a 16- page tabloid. He started his professional career as a cartoonist with Sun Times English daily and there was no looking back.

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He has contributed to different mainstream newspapers and magazines in English and vernacular, like Bhubaneswar Times, Political Business Daily, Samaja ,Nabalipi, Katha, Sachitra -Bijaya  etc. Currently, KK is working in Pratinidhi,  a fortnightly odia magazine.  In 2009 elections, KK contributed political cartoons to Samaja an Odia daily, on a regular basis which was immensely liked by all.

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‘The Common Man’ and the animated expressions of the crow by R.K Laxman, motivate KK into focusing on detailed expressions in his cartoons. He concentrates more on facial expressions, details of the character, less words, simple thoughts and action packed illustrations. KK’s cartoons are sharp and make people laugh instantly and his caricatures are vibrant and lively. Initially he used to draw with different brushes but now he uses the sketch pens. KK staunchly believes that fewer the words better the cartoon, and his muses belong to everyday happenings and incidents in an ordinary life. He draws inspiration from stalwart cartoonists like Sudhir Dhar, Mario, Abu Abraham and others.

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KK’s social cartoons are based on different issues like water movement, health, environment etc. The comic books on environment changes –Prithiviraj ra munda garam, Chithi lekhuchi duisaha saturi ru, were liked by all. His workshops in different festivals have won him a lot of accolades. Anjali children festival -2015 was a great experience for both the students and KK.

cartoon workshop

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According to him, the concept of cartoons gets mixed up with caricatures and pocket cartoons. Even though related, cartoons are illustration with very few words or digest, and cause instantaneous humour.  Recently media houses are employing cartoonists on a regular basis and the future has perked up in this field.

 

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