The world of cartoons is more than often hailed as a man’s territory. Especially in India, few women have braved to step in and outshine men with their humour and satire-strewn sketches. However, on Tuesday, Kochi witnessed some of those bold strokes by women cartoonists. For the first time, the Kerala Cartoon Academy gathered iconic cartoons created by some of the popular female cartoonists from across the country and upcoming female cartoonists of Kerala.
‘Pink Toons — Feminine strokes of laughter’ organised by the Kerala Cartoon Academy along with Ernakulam Press Club as part of Women’s Day celebrations saw cartoons of noted cartoonists such as the late Maya Kamath, Manjula Padmanabhan, Aysha Huseen, Salvia Raj, Remadevi, Rachana Vijith, Mini V.S., Soorya Mariam Kurian and Sera Mariam.
The exhibition was a potpourri of bold socio-political statements and cartoons that spoke volumes about how society treats women today. Young artist Sera Mariyam Binni, the first prize winner for cartoon in 2017 School Kalotsavam, and Surya Maria Kurien, first prize winner for cartoon in 2017 Mahatma Gandhi University youth festival, had also displayed their cartoons at the exhibition.
Sera Maria Kurien, who is also a dubbing artist, says, “At such a young age, I got an opportunity to display my work here. I see this as a learning experience.” Surya, a first year LLB student, says, “Cartoons have interested me since school days. I wish to take both my legal studies and art side-by-side.”
Ramadevi, a senior cartoonist from Kerala, who is also a recipient the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi Honourable mention, says, “I started off as a cartoonist years ago. Compared to those days, we clearly have more opportunities now.”
The event was inaugurated by Kochi mayor Soumini Jain, who is an artist herself. The mayor who inaugurated the event by sketching a woman’s face on a canvas, said, “What we see today is that the term empowerment is connected to feminism and then seen as a joke. Empowerment is the first step to realising one’s strengths.”
