I take my pets out for a bird-watching walk and hope that by the time I return, the problem will disappear (they don't, and you eventually have to work your way out hard through them). This year has been a particularly challenging year for me after losing out on a steady newspaper column.
I studied to be a dentist because of the lack of awareness that a career in the arts was a possibility, hailing from a small town (Nagpur). After graduating in 2010, I worked as an animation designer for a multimedia studio in Bangalore for four years, and used my free time to develop my series 'Green Humour'.
In 2014, I gave up my animation job and turned to cartooning full-time and there's been no looking back since.
2. When did you decide you wanted to be an illustrator and cartoonist?
I have always had a passion for cartoons but I was late in realizing that I could actually make a career out of it. It was only when I was in my early twenties that I grew determined to do what I love professionally.
3. Tell us more about Green Humour.
Green Humour is a series of cartoons, comics and illustrations on wildlife and nature conservation, environmental issues, sustainability and all things green. Cartoons from Green Humour deal with a wide range of themes and topics in the environmental spectrum.
While some comics are light-hearted entertainers that decode wildlife biology and ecological concepts for the layman, others tackle complex issues revolving around climate change, global warming, unsustainability and sustainable choices, the politics and socio-politics of climate change, and climate injustice. Some of the best received cartoons and comic strips from the series are attached with the e-mail.
Over the last twelve years, Green Humour has run in weekly columns in four Indian newspapers (Sunday Mid-Day, The Hindu, BL-Ink and Pune Mirror), several magazines and journals, and various projects in association with organizations working on wildlife conservation and environmental awareness, such as WWF International, Birdlife International, Save Our Seas Foundation among others.
Over the last twelve years, Green Humour has run in weekly columns in four Indian newspapers (Sunday Mid-Day, The Hindu, BL-Ink and Pune Mirror), several magazines and journals, and various projects in association with organizations working on wildlife conservation and environmental awareness, such as WWF International, Birdlife International, Save Our Seas Foundation among others.
The series has also been syndicated online on Universal Press Syndicate's Gocomics since 2013, making it India's first internationally syndicated comic strip. Green Humour has won awards from WWF International and the Royal Bank of Scotland. A curated compilation of the series was published by Penguin in 2021, titled Green Humour for a Greying Planet.
Cartoons from the series were also displayed at the UN COP 26 held in Glasgow last year. A selection of Green Humour cartoons is also hosted on Cartoonstock. As the creator of this series, I have been a part of the International League of Conservation Writers since 2015.
Green Humour enjoys a steadily growing international readership across social media platforms, with 15600 subscribers on Twitter, 99000 subscribers on Facebook, and 145000 subscribers on Instagram.
Green Humour enjoys a steadily growing international readership across social media platforms, with 15600 subscribers on Twitter, 99000 subscribers on Facebook, and 145000 subscribers on Instagram.
4. What made you concentrate largely around wildlife and environment cartoons and illustrations?
The sighting of my first wild tigress. Until that happened, I was dabbling as a cartoonist and never really finding my feet. The gaze of that tigress prompted me to merge cartoons with wildlife and see what comes out of it.
5. Where do you get inspired from to create art?
Both from firsthand experiences (bird-watching trails, nature trails, extensive field visits for some of my projects), and from reading literature, watching documentaries and films on wildlife and environmental issues. Inspiration is like a fat gecko on the wall. When you're looking out for it it hides behind the clock. When you least expect it it falls onto your lap.
6. Is being a cartoonist and illustrator a financially stable career?
Certainly not when you have just begun, and it takes a while to stabilize. I don't think I could have pulled it off if I didn't have a day-job initially to fall back on.
7. Who is your favourite cartoonist and why?
If I had to name just one person, it would be Gary Larson, because of his penchant for dark humour. His series, The Far Side, is my favourite, hands down.
8. What piece of advice would you like to give to future aspiring illustrators?
I don't think I'm in much of a position to offer advice to artists younger than me. I'm from a generation of cartoonists who aspired to be in print because all their idols have been in print. Now that the print is dying a slow, inevitable death, many cartoonists like me are struggling to come to terms with the web and monetize our work online, which younger artists have very little trouble doing.
So if you're a Gen-Z / millennial artist who happens to be reading this, please offer me some advice instead (I'm open to all suggestions except becoming a social media influencer or dancing in an Instagram reel!)
9. How do you overcome challenges and recover from setbacks?
I take my pets out for a bird-watching walk and hope that by the time I return, the problem will disappear (they don't, and you eventually have to work your way out hard through them). This year has been a particularly challenging year for me after losing out on a steady newspaper column. In a bid to reorient my art to changing times, I have recently launched a webstore to cater to Indian readers and I hope that it will help me sustain my art in the years to come.
10. If not this, what would you be doing?
As long as Shahrukh Khan was in the business, I had always secretly aspired to be a playback singer for his films. Now when I think of an alternative career, I feel that I'd make an excellent chef for dogs. Some of my recipes get Michelin ratings on a regular basis from my pets Srishti and Sakshi.
11. Which is your favourite book/show and why?
My favourite book of all time would probably be The Tribes on my Frontier by Edward Hamilton Aitken. If I had to name a more contemporary publication, it would be Alex Von Tunzelmann's Red Heat. I don't watch TV Shows at all, but am a huge cinema buff. My favourite films of all time are Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Amelie, and Old Boy (The original Korean one, twenty years before today's kids made K-dramas the in-thing).
Interviewed By - Nimisha Dutta
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