A BOOK TO PUT YOU IN TOON WITH THE TIMES

Some of India’s top cartoonists come together at the launch of ‘Jest in Time’, a book that looks at humour through several decades in the pages of the TOI

Saira Kurup | TNN 

New Delhi: It’s a rare event that brings together some of India’s funniest cartoonists. So it was a special Monday when seven of the best gathered to mark the release of “Jest in Time”, a collector’s item of TOI cartoons spanning several decades. The booklaunchwas partof TOI’s 175th year celebrations. 
    Put together by satirist Jug Suraiya, and cartoonists Ajit Ninan and Neelabh Banerjee, the book features priceless selections from the archives. It kicks off with the classics by India’s most celebrated cartoonist R K Laxman, and showcases the best of Ninan and Banerjee. 
    Releasing the book at the event,information andbroadcasting minister Manish Tewarisaid,“Laxman’scartoons haveentrancedthe nation and educated us how you can say a lot in a few words.” 
    He recalled how when he travelled across the then USSR and eastern Europe as a student, he realised the power of humour and its potency to fight totalitarianism. Tewari admitted to being an avid reader of comics like Dennis the Menace, Asterix and Tintin. He laughed that when he goes home Cartoon Network,Pogo andDisney are the channels he first switches on.“IlikethePowerpuff Girls the best, but some of the ‘powerpuff girls’on primetimeTV can give them a run for their money,” he joked. 
    The force of humour is just what “Jest in Time” celebrates. But selecting the best of cartoons was a real challenge, admits Banerjee. “We hadto gothroughthe archives with a fine comb to bring out the most iconic ones. The second challenge was to decide whether we should take it chronologically or make it more relevant to readers of today,” he says. The contemporary reader won, and the book has been divided into chapters with quirky names like ‘Netas and Nataks’, ‘Global Golmaal’, ‘Ghoos Phoos’ and ‘Out of Order’, each of which have cartoons by all three cartoonists. 
    One of the high points of the book launch was an onthe-spotcollaborative artwork by well-known cartoonists Sudhir Tailang from Deccan Chronicle, Manjul from Daily News and Analysis, Keshav from TheHindu,Jayanta from Hindustan Times and Prasad from Mail Today. They were, of course, accompaniedin the jugal bandi of sorts by Ninan and Banerjee. Keshav set the tone by drawing the new common man forced to tighten his belt in difficult times. 
    Tailang followed with an illustration showing Narasimha Rao give his ‘student’ PM Manmohan Singh a poor report card. He said, “Rao has always been my favourite ‘hero’. He was ‘designed’ for cartoonists. But now Singh has beaten him hollow!” On a more serious note, he added, “TOI and R K Laxman have contributed a lot to the art of cartooning. We have had many great cartoonists but Laxman not only established the art of cartooning in India, he made the role of the cartoonist a respected one in the media.” Manjul’s version of the common man was one who doesn’t speak but tweets instead! Jayanta then drew the laughs by drawing a neta with a loudspeaker as his head “because netas are not doing what they are supposed to; they just keep shouting!” 
    To audience applause, Ninan put the artwork in context by sketching Parliament, and Banerjee gave the final touch by showing the common man holding up the House on his shoulders. 
    Tewari took the lighthearted lampooning of politicians sportingly. “It’s an appropriate portrayal of what is happening at this point of time,” he said, probably referring to the ongoing, tumultuous session of Parliament. He added with a smile, “It’s a rare Monday morning that you can start the week with a laugh.”

Source:::: The Times of India, 27-08-2013, p.10, http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW