The second day of the Indian Journalism Festival organized by the State Press Club Madhya Pradesh

Tahir Kamaal Siddiqui – Indore

Being a cartoonist is more difficult than being a journalist and painter

On the second day of the three-day Indian Journalism Festival organized by the State Press Club Madhya Pradesh in Jal Auditorium, journalists and cartoonists spoke openly on various issues. The program was inaugurated by State Press Club President Praveen Kumar Khariwal, cartoonists Ismail Lahiri, Ghanshyam Deshmukh, Trayambak Sharma, Nilesh Khare, Manjul etc. by lighting the lamp.

Former Speaker of Lok Sabha Smt. Sumitra Mahajan also participated in the program. In the first session, cartoonists from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh etc. spoke openly on the topic “Talk about cartoons with laughter and tickle”.

In the introduction to the topic, TV producer Rachna Johri associated with State Press Club Madhya Pradesh said that today we all have forgotten to laugh and wait for a TV serial to laugh. We laugh at cartoons and sometimes we also get angry against the system. A cartoon expresses a lot. Therefore, it is very important to have cartoons in newspapers.
Caricaturist and journalist Nilesh Khare said that the more goodness is left in politics today, the more cartoonists are left in newspapers. Being a cartoonist is more difficult than being a painter and a journalist. An editor can easily edit any news or article, but it is very difficult for an editor to add or reduce the lines of a cartoon. Therefore, he does not take the risk of editing a cartoon. Making a cartoon has never been easy. To make a cartoon, a cartoonist has to study for 6 to 7 hours, only then he can make a good cartoon. Khare further said that it is important for an editor to have an understanding of cartoons. Sometimes, because of a cartoon, he has to face the anger of the newspaper owner or readers. Cartoonists should generally avoid religious pictures. When readers feel that more cartoons are being printed in newspapers, then they should understand that there is more freedom in journalism.

Senior cartoonist Ghanshyam Deshmukh said that a painter can become a better cartoonist because he knows the value of lines. Many times the same type of cartoons are printed in a newspaper because the owners of those newspapers are associated with a particular political party. This situation still exists today. A cartoonist is more self-respecting and he makes cartoons by becoming the voice of the public. Therefore, such cartoonists are not able to serve a newspaper for long. Senior cartoonist of Chhattisgarh Trayambak Sharma said that a cartoonist speaks very little but his cartoons are outspoken. Bala Saheb Thackeray was a good cartoonist but when he started speaking, he proved to be a good politician. It is easy to run a political party but it is very difficult to run a magazine of cartoons. On one hand, a cartoonist is called a great watchman of democracy, while on the other hand, society asks the cartoonist what he does other than make cartoons. A cartoonist is very miserly. He expresses his views in a few lines. Cartoonists in India are prudent. That is why they do not make vulgar or absurd cartoons of any big celebrity. Whereas it is easy to make such absurd cartoons in foreign countries. Unfortunately, newspapers have posts of servants but not of cartoonists.

Senior cartoonist Manjul, who came from Amravati, said that cartoons are like black and white, while the color of news is grey. He further said that cartoonists’ drawings are very sharp and have a lot of sarcasm in them. Cartoonists are very busy and they are not easily available.

Manjul also recited small and big satirical poems along with political jokes, which were applauded a lot. In the beginning, humorous poet Rohit Jhannat gave an interesting introduction to the Indore city through humorous satirical poems.

The guests were welcomed by State Press Club M.P. President Praveen Kumar Khariwal, Sundar Gurjar, Hemant Malviya, Kumar, and Girish Malviya. The guest introduction was given by Abhishek Sisodia. Pradeep Singh Rao, Dr. Rajni Bhandari, Ramesh Benjamin, Sonali Yadav, and Gopal Joshi presented mementos to the guests. The program was conducted by Ismail Lahri. Senior journalist Kirti Rana expressed gratitude.