For laughs and more

KOCHI: Just a click of a mouse and you enter the world of cartoons that highlight the effect of the pandemic on the world. These cartoons range from those that aim at spreading awareness about the need to take care of personal hygiene to those that picturise the scary situation across the globe. Never did Kerala Cartoon Academy (KCA) guess that its Facebook page will be flooded with cartoons about Covid-19 within days of launching the project–an online exhibition.

Today the page has over 700 cartoons that have been uploaded with more than 10 cartoons being received every two hours. “We get around 150 cartoons every day,” said Sudheer Nath, cartoonist and a point person for Kerala Cartoon Academy. “However, we ensure that the cartoons are screened before uploading them,” he added. According to him, the decision to launch an online exhibition was taken following the lockdown.

“Earlier, we made posters and stuck them on walls. But that elicited only a mild response. The work was being undertaken in association with the Health Department,” said Sudheer. So, the KCA members sat together and came up with the idea of starting an online exhibition. “We started with just 15 cartoons and informed the public that that KCA would be uploading 50 per day. But the exhibition took off and became popular all over the country with even international cartoonists contributing their works,” he said. According to him, over 100 plus cartoonists contribute regularly.

“Earlier, we used to accept cartoons on international issues. But now we concentrate only on national issues,” he said. “While screening we reject those creations with political or religious innuendoes,” he said. According to him, cartoonists in the state were working on their creations even before Covid-19 was declares a pandemic.

“The first poster exhibition was held on February 21 in Kannur. This was followed by ones in Ernakulam and Thrissur. All these exhibitions were held in association with the Health Departments of the districts,” said Sudheer. He said that the cartoons were not just humorous takes on the pandemic but also depict the need to take the issue seriously. “The works we receive aren’t translated. They speak for themselves,” he added.