Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inspired veteran cartoonist Uday Shankar to express his own “Mann ki Baat” - not through spoken words but through the premier’s caricature on demonetisation.
Kolkata-born Uday Shankar has drawn a special caricature of Modi who is shown wearing a traditional jacket designed with a collage of the new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes – a satirical reminder of the Prime Minister’s controversial gold-yarn pinstriped suit he wore to receive former US President Barack Obama.
Some time ago, Uday Shankar’s chance meeting with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inspired him to draw and gift him his caricature.
An impressed Chief Minister later roped him in for training government school teachers and students in two-dimension animation using smart phones and self-drawn sketches.
The veteran cartoonist recalls how Kejriwal reacted when he gifted him his caricature to him. “He the caricature looked just like him,” said Uday Shankar, who has held 126 animation workshops for school teachers and students from across the country, including Delhi government schools.
The cartoonist with over two decades of experience in working in newspapers and magazines has even made caricatures of Presidents of India but is yearning to share his “Mann ki baat” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“I have sent an email request to his office and hope that Modiji spares some time for personally receive his caricature,” said Uday Shankar.
Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, who was also gifted a caricature by Shankar, has now proposed to involve him for conducting training programmes for arts students in all schools.
“Ever since animation has been included in the curriculum of Class 12 students by the NCERT, there is an increased interest in the art,” said Uday Shankar.
“I also made promotion material for the odd-even road rationing drive of the government earlier,” he said.
Published 06 December 2016, 10:22 IST