By Kulsum Mustafa, TwoCircles.net
From making cartoons for some of the leading newspapers in the country to pioneering the concept of introducing political cartoons in electronic media India, to being sentenced to four months imprisonment for making a cartoon on former Chief Justice of India in 2007, life has been both sugar and spice. Irfan has only grown with each episode, his pencil strokes acquiring more depth, more maturity, his wit getting sharper and his serious messages packed with humor getting conveyed with élan to the masses.
In these days when stress and strain are so visible on the visage of any professional, one will find Irfan looking calm and peaceful with an impish smile enhancing his ‘all’s well’ attitude.
“That is because I am married to the art of ‘humor lines’ for over two and half decades,” says Irfan asserting that his fascination for cartoons and caricatures has never waned in these years.
Starting his career in print in 1982, with popular Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar, six years later he organized his solo cartoon exhibition at India’s most famous art gallery in Delhi-Sridharani, Triveni. After that, there was no looking back.
The nineties were times when newspapers were still the most popular means of mass communication. Irfan joined the Times group Hindi daily Nav Bharat Times in Lucknow in 1992. No other Hindi newspaper in the city was publishing political cartoons then. The concept became so popular that within months ten other newspapers had cartoon corners in their pages.
Irfan shifted to Delhi in 1994, and his journey in national media began. Irfan. It was here that the electronic media beckoned him. He got involved with Zee News‘ “Morning Zee” and used to draw a cartoon of the week every Sunday on-screen. Soon he came up with his own show Shakhsiyat, in which he would interview celebrities from all spheres of life while drawing their sketch.He was invited to work for NDTV’s Gustakhi Maaf after that.
Another show Itni Si Baat on Sahara Samay soon came up. Irfan had invaded the tube and his popularity rose by leaps and bounds.
The then editor-in-chief of The Economic Times, Swaminathan Aiyar soon recognized his talent, and invited him to join his team. Irfan moved up the ladder with Prabhu Chawla in The Financial Express, MJ Akbar in The Asian Age, Shekhar Gupta in The Indian Express and is currently with Om Thanvi in Jansatta.
Irfan was selected to represent India in Tokyo in The Tenth Asian Cartoon Exhibition organized by Japan Foundation in 2005. He has held five solo cartoon exhibitions till date. He has come up with three cartoon collections, namely; Punchline, My Delhi and Kargil Kartoons. He has also contributed for NCERT, and his cartoons are a subject of study in High School.
Irfan Khan was presented the prestigious Kaka Hathrasi Award from Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on 11th May, 2010 in New Delhi.
Fame has never gone to his head, adversities have never blocked his vision and his passion for wrapping wisdom and wit into each of his caricatures and cartoons has only enhanced in the years.
It has been a roller–coaster professional ride for cartoonist Irfan Khan who was presented the prestigious Kaka Hathrasi Award from Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on 11th May, 2010 in New Delhi.
“My work keeps me young and agile; it gives a great perspective to everything. I can convey harsh facts of life in such a subtle manner that it looks like I am kicking someone hard with kid gloves. Caricature and cartoons are after all my life-line. Irfan told TwoCircles.net after receiving the Kaka Hathrasi award.
Hailing from a middle class Muslim family of Madhya Pradesh, Irfan always knew that his pencil could perform miracles- lines that carried serious. Important messages
“Who says cartoons are mere disfigured sketches in black & white. They are honest living and have the power to speak truth in the most humble way!. May this art never die,” says Irfan.
Amen to that.
Link:
http://irfancartoons.blogspot.com/