Meet Cartoonist Ajit Ninan
The morning newspaper and a cuppa chai is a ritual that is common to a large part of the human race. But people read it in their own manner. Some glance at the headlines and head straight for the sports page. So open the editorial page and shake their head disapprovingly at the affairs of the world. I head for the cartoons. I grab the newspaper and head straight for Ajit Ninan's cartoon. I look for two elements of wit in a cartoon - the visual and verbal. Ninan excels in both. With most cartoonists one lands up choosing between the two. Ajit started his career with FD Stewarts - an ad agency in Chennai before they transferred him to Delhi. While in Delhi Ajit started contributing cartoons to Target - a magazine for children run by the India Today group. That led to an offer to join the media group as cartoonist and illustrator. Ajit's cartoons in India Today, Business Today and Target got him noticed. He joined Indian Express newspaper in 1992 before drawing for the news magazine Outlook. He is now with The Times of India as their Chief Graphics Consultant. Ajit used to run a cartoon strip called Detective Moochhwala (and his tail-less dog called Poochh, which means tail in Hindi) for Target. That comic strip had cult status amongst readers and it was amazing to see Ajit pack in a tight storyline and brilliant graphics in about 35-40 frames.Nephew of the cartoonist Abu Abraham (1924-2002), Ajit grew up in Hyderabad. The highlight of his time at Hyderabad Public School was when he used to get "suspended" for drawing cartoons of his teachers. According to Ajit, "That allowed me to sit in the library and go through stacks of Punch and New Yorker cartoons. Cartoonists James Thurber and Arnold Roth were my inspiration. As a kid I spent many doing detailed sketches of machines and turbines. My love for these gadgets showed up when I drew Moochhwala who used hi-tech inspired gadgets like Katchem Krime Komputer - which was a dig at the Ku Klux Klan." Ajit looked at my caricature of him and said, "That's spot on! The hair on the eyebrows was michievous." We caught up over lunch and many cups of coffee.
Abhijit Bhaduri: Where was your first cartoon published? How old were you then?Ajit Ninan: My first work was published in the last issue of the children's magazine Shankar's Weekly. I think that was in 1968 or 69 and they shut down after that. Maybe because of my cartoon!! They sent me a Money Order for Rs10/-. I promptly spent eight bucks out of that buying myself a new pair of school shoes.Abhijit: How did you know that you wanted to be a cartoonist?
Ninan: I am a "Mallu" (Malayali for the uninitiated) but from Hyderabad. I was weak in Math. So it had to be art. My ambition was to teach in a college. I thought I would move all my classes to the afternoon and get to sleep late everyday.But I did not start off doing cartoons. I started off drawing complicated machines and turbines. As a cartoonist you have to learn to draw all kinds of things and from all angles. If you need to draw a tractor, you have to know how much of the wheel would be visible, what shape the headlights are. Where are they fixed etc. You have to be able to draw all those details. Only then can you use them in a cartoon. A cartoonist's mind has to be like a Rotoscope. When I am looking at a person, or reading a news item my mind automatically churns ideas, creates images, exaggerates a point of view. That is important for a cartoonist.(According to Wikipedia: In the visual effects industry, the term rotoscoping refers to the technique of manually creating a matte for an element on a live-action plate so it may be composited over another background.)Abhijit: Whose cartoons do you admire?Ninan: Mario Miranda's drawings. He is the only Indian cartoonist who can have a hundred characters in a drawing and still have harmony. His pen strokes are so confident. He will take care to make a guy in a black coat stand in front of a white door to bring out the contrast and details. I grew up admiring the works of James Thurber and Arnold Roth of New Yorker. There are two kinds of cartoonists - those who attract attention with the blacks and those who use white (space). American cartoonists use a lot of black - their politicians and business people wear black. That explains their style. Our style has to be to use white. Abu Abraham shifted to using more white after he started to draw in India. I love Lurie's style of big heads and small bodies. I used this style while drawing the business leaders caricatures.Abhijit: When you draw cartoons for a living, does it not tend to take the joy out of what could be a nice hobby? How do your friends treat you?Ajit: It is a stressful and lonely role. You cannot delegate it to anyone. You always have to have ideas that have at least a 24 hour shelf life. If you are on vacation, the continuity has to be maintained for the reader. My friends expect me to always come up with something wacky. Some of them are wary about getting themselves depicted as a cartoon.Abhijit: How do you draw caricatures? Are good looking people more difficult to draw caricatures of?
Ajit: Yes, good looking people are more difficult to draw. I find it tougher to draw women than men. When Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister, I was worried until he built his helipad ! By making Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister, in one stroke Sonia Gandhi has deprived cartoonists of so many cartoon topics. Manmohan Singh is difficult to make fun of. But cartoonists still manage to.I always start with the nose. Then decide where to hang the rest of the face. (hands me a collection of biz leaders' caricature he has drawn.)Abhijit: What is it about the state of Kerala that has produced some of India's best known cartoonists - Vijayan, Kutty, Shankar, Ravi Shankar, Abu Abraham to name a few? (Just check out this list at http://keralacartoonists.blogspot.com/)Ajit: I think it is a combination of literacy and political leanings that Kerala has to offer. All that Leftist ideology encourages people to cock a snook at the establishment. And then of course, having a largely matriarchal society ensures that the banter between the sexes is always witty.Abhijit: How did having the cartoonist Abu Abraham as your paternal uncle influence your work?Ajit: He was a very insightful man. Abu used to say, you need a high degree of intellect to be a cartoonist. Get to the essence of a situation, then visualize it in the most concise fashion. Do not fill up your drawing just to show people that you draw well.
Abhijit Bhaduri: How did Detective Moochhwala and Pooch get created? I was a great fan of those cartoons. I know I am not alone because I see many others pining for Moochh and Poochh. (Download a hi-res copy of this cartoon from here)
Ajit: Moochhwalla was inspired by cartoonist David Low's character Col Blimp. I kept the dog Poochh white in color as it would save the hassle of coloring and shading the dog. (Pulls out a comic book version of Moochhwalla comics collection and shows me). I just loved coming up with those stories and crazy gadgets. Fitting a full story and the drawing on to 35 odd frames was a challenge. And not to forget the "silent" cartoons.Abhijit: How would you go about hiring a cartoonist? Ajit: I would gauge the person's mind more than the lines. You need a wacko sense of humor. Then look for the person's ability to visualize. I would ask the person to come up with as many visualizations of say, the hammer and sickle or any other party's logo? After all the cartoonist is conveying a political point of view with visuals. The cartoonist should not have to wait for a news headline and then think of a cartoon. Humor can't be simplistic humor either.Abhijit: What is the role of a cartoonist in a newspaper? With newspaper readership dwindling worldwide, what will happen to cartoonists in future?Ajit: There are many opportunities for cartoonists. Look at animation films like Shrek and Madagascar. They could employ hundreds of cartoonists. There are web sites and TV channels that look for cartoonists. Above all cartoonists need to be able to work in teams.Abhijit: Any cartoon you regret having made?Ajit: At the height of the Bofors scandal, I had drawn Rajiv Gandhi like a Pope surrounded by black sheep with one white sheep that was supposed to be VP Singh. Instead of the cross on his clothes I had used the Congress party symbol. That had offended some Christian groups. Another time I had shown the map of India to be like a Ganesha. Gujarat and the Eastern states being the ears etc. That offended a few Hindu groups. So I apologized.=====Join me on Twitter @AbhijitBhaduri or on LinkedIn
