SHANKAR'S WEEKLY

On a cartoonist and his magazine From the time I started having my cartoons published in magazines, my great desire was to be published in Shankar's Weekly. There was a certain prestige attached to being a cartoonist in this magazine, though the payment was low when compared to other magazines. Somehow I didn't have the courage to try, since I was allergic to rejection slips. So I published my cartoons in Filmfare, Star & Style, Debonair, Film Mirror, Sportsweek and some other such journals. Shankar's Weekly was a distant dream. Nehru's Favourite Shankar, the famous cartoonist, had started this magazine more or less on the lines of the British magazine, Punch. Shankar's Weekly was perhaps the only magazine in India fully devoted to cartoons and humorous articles. Shankar's cartoons appeared in this weekly and were much appreciated by top leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru was a very hard working Prime Minister, labouring nearly twenty hours a day. Eventually he took a much-needed vacation. He went to Thekkady for a week of relaxation. At that time Shankar drew a cartoon in his weekly that seemed to say that there could be no rest for the PM. As Nehru drifted along in a boat, all the wild animals in Thekkady were depicted as the various agitations and political dilemmas that Nehru had to face. Nehru liked this cartoon so much that he asked for the original and had it preserved. Many top Indian cartoonists had their start in Shankars's Weekly before moving on to more lucrative berths in other magazines. The fact that they were in Shankar's Weekly seemed to throw open doors for them. After drawing and destroying a number of cartoons, I finally sent a set to Shankar's Weekly. To my delighted surprise all of them were accepted. A few days later I got a letter from the magazine asking me whether I would be interested in drawing regularly for them. Three cartoons a week was the contract fixed. I accepted, and from then on until the magazine closed down, I had three cartoons of mine in the weekly. Not favoured by Indira Gandhi After Indira Gandhi declared Emergency in India, many cartoonists were in peril. When government told Shankar that some cartoonists in his magazine will be proceeded against, I was in jitters, since I too had lampooned Mrs.Gandhi in three or four cartoons. But Shankar talked to Mrs Gandhi personally and assured her that he would close down the magazine and requested her not to harm any cartoonist. So we were let off the hook. This was possible only because of the respect Shankar commanded in the Nehru family. This brought out the qualities of Shankar that made him a good human being. He put the welfare of those who worked for him before the survival of his magazine. A few days later I got a letter personally signed by Shankar explaining the circumstances under which the magazine had been closed down, and promising to pay all the arrears due to the contributors. Sure enough, I got a cheque within a couple of weeks. Later, when Shankar passed away, the Madurai station of the All India Radio wished to interview me about Shankar and his weekly. I told them whatever I knew of the cartoonist and his work. It was also a tribute to a good human being. Even today I feel a sense of pride over my association with Shankar's Weekly. J.VASANTHAN Date:25/11/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2006/11/25/stories/2006112500200300.htm