Meet the man whose cartoon “In Your Face” appears in the editorial page of Deccan Herald every Tuesday. He is Vikas Gupta, an engineer by profession and a cartoonist by passion. His work also appears in several other publications.
Though family pressure made him pursue Masters in Electronics from IIT, Delhi, that never stopped him loving and drawing cartoons. A recipient of Best Cartoonist Award from IIT, Delhi, Vikas has published around 200 cartoons in various publications including Air Deccan in-flight magazine, Paramount in-flight magazine, Business Gyan magazine and in-house magazine of his own company. He has even published cartoon of his boss, depicting his multiple character as a frequent smoker and at the same time a hairstyle conscious fellow. “But the boss was happy on seeing the cartoon,” he says. Subjects of his strokes include politics, business, infrastructure and other social issues.
“Whatever I see in politics are wrong. I have made fun of Indian leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Deva Gowda, Yediyurappa, and International figures like Pak president Parvez Musharaf and I have no regrets on this. But my cartoons are not meant for just fun, they always have some strong messages to convey,” says Vikas, who is currently working as Senior Field Application Engineer at Mentor Grafics, an American Multinational company in Bangalore.
“I developed a liking to draw cartoons during my childhood days and I used to publish cartoons in the Chidren’s Corner of The Tribune, a Panjab daily during my school days,” he says. Born in Panjab, Vikas is now settled in Bangalore.
“A major thing that helps me widen my perception and vision reflecting in my strokes is my immense travel. I almost covered America and visited some parts of Asia and Europe, though for business purpose,“ says Vikas. Born to Ramesh Goel and Susheela Goel, he has been married to Madhu, a software engineer in Bangalore. “While my wife gives me tips, my daughter Amishi shows an interest in drawings. Though she is just three year old at present, I would like to see her as an artist than an engineer in future” says this artist.
He can be reached via 09845462980. Email: vikas.cartoonist@gmail.com
