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News:Cartoonist
N K Ranga passes away
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PTI
[ SUNDAY, JULY 28, 2002 3:21:34 PM ] BANGALORE:
N K Ranga, who etched a special pride of place in the cartoonists' world
with his rib-tickling and lampooning cartoons, died of a massive heart
attack at his brother's residence here on Sunday, family sources said.
The 77-year-old N K Ranganath, popularly
known as Ranga, collapsed suddenly and fell unconscious after his morning
coffee and was declared dead by the doctor who was summoned immediately,
his brother Anantharaman said.
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Ranga,
based in Delhi for the last nearly four decades, worked for The Statesman,
The Indian Express and was at present contributing for The Tribune besides
several weeklies and publications, had come here on Saturday. Beginning
his career with the popular "Shankar's Weekly", Ranga, who found a bedrock
of support from the famous cartoonist, Shankar, never looked back and
climbed up the ladder to become a famous cartoonist. Ranga has a rare
distinction--having the highest collection of some 2,000 autographed
cartoons of national and international celebrities, either sketching
them or lampooning them-- a remarkable feat recorded in the "Limca Book
of Records". He would convert doodles into sketches of celebrities he
was interviewing. It was on one such occasion that the late Russian
President Nikita Kruschev liked his sketch and asked for a copy. Since
then, Ranga used to draw two cartoons, one for the celebrity and one
with his autograph for himself. Chief Minister S M Krishna today mourned
the demise of noted cartoonist N K Ranganath, popularly known as Ranga,
who died in Bangalore today.
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WThe
Tributes to Ranga! (condolence messages)
| A
P J Abdul Kalam W(Priesident of India) |
Making the nation smile was Ranga's big contribution for which he will always be remembered. I have known cartoonist Ranga for many years. His cartoons were creative and original and brought smiles to people's faces which was a big contribution of Ranga. He will always be remembered for his work |
| A
B Vajpayee W(PM of India) |
Ranga was a one man institution who took the art of drawing cartoons to new heights. The speed and ease with which he could draw line caricature of any personality was really amazing. He had the knack of treating his subject with rare sensitivity without missing the punch lines which brought out his abounding sense of humour and wit. |
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Sonia
Gandhi |
Ranga was among the stalwarts of India's free press, which has played a significant role in furthering the country's tradition of tolerance and cultural diversity. |
| S
M Krishna W(CM-Karnataka) |
“I am deeply inspired by his caricatures, especially that of world leaders. In his demise, the country has lost a great caricaturist.” |
| V
G Narendra, WManaging Trustee of Indian Institute of Cartoonists & President:Karnataka Cartoonist Association |
"Mr Ranga was not only given a State award in 1989 in recognition of his work, but also had plans to settle in Bangalore" |
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Sudhir
Tailang |
I
received an SMS from a friend in Bangalore. My first reaction was of disbelief.
And then, of shock. With Ranga's departure from the cartooning scene,
we have lost one of the second-generation cartoonists of our country.
He was, in a sense, from the Shankar school of cartooning. India was fresh
with freedom. Independence had just dawned. Shankar, the patriarch of
Indian cartooning, had launched the Shankar's Weekly after he left
the Hindustan Times. The Shankar's Weekly became a breeding ground
for many budding cartoonists. Kutty, Kerala Verma, Samuel… it was an army
of cartoonists that got lessons in the art of graphic-commando techniques.
Ranga was one of the black cats trained to hit anyone and every one who
came in the range of his brush! Ranga will be remembered for his unique
contribution to the art of caricature. He created a new genre and mastered it. He almost invented a new art-form of on-the-spot caricature. One could, during his hey days, find him holding his sketchpad and a drawing pen in the front row of a press conference or even at the departure or arrival lounge of an airport. He mastered the art of capturing the features of a president or a prime minister or just any dignitary who happened to be in town. It's not easy to concentrate on someone's facial expression and contours of his face when you are being pushed by the VVIP's security guards and your fellow reporters. Only Ranga could do it. And he even managed to get these caricatures autographed by the stars themselves. Perhaps he had the largest collection of such drawings. He periodically held exhibitions of these caricatures as well. He worked for several magazines and newspapers but for the past few years he had been syndicating his drawings. At a time when the art of political cartooning is on the decline all over the world, Ranga's death is a loss to the cartooning world. It's a sad coincidence that just before Shankar's birth centenary on July 31, one of his dear and celebrated students has bid adieu. ...SUDHIR |
| Kutty W(Fello Cartoonist) |
Very sad to hear that RANGA Iis dead. He had a good innings. May his soul rest in peace. ...KUTTY |
| Kaak W(Fello Cartoonist) |
We both used to appear simultaneouly in "Dinman" & other news paper.he was cartoonist struggling bravely for cartooning and always active to keep cartooning in lime light by his exhibitons and portait cartoons of prominent celebrities....KAAK Kaakdrishti.com |
| Keshav W(Cartoonist: The Hindu) |
It is sad to know that Ranga is no more. I had the opportunity to talk to him a number of times in the past decade and learn about the intricacies of his line, which was deceptively simple. He was a nice person to know. I am still amazed how he could find himself the right place to caricature a person, when one could hardly get through to see them. And to get them to autograph his work, well that needed a great deal of perseverence. And the tolerance to take the comments of the celebrity, not always flattering. May his soul rest in peace. ...KESHAV. |
| Manoj
Sinha W(Cartoonist: Escotoonz) |
Ranga Ji was capable of saying a lot from his drawn lines. The Mahatma Gandhi series made by him will keep him remembered and alive as famous cartoonist in the world... MANOJ. |
| Prakash
Shetty W(Cartoonist, Kerala) |
It
is a big loss! That too in a country like India where we find a very very few class cartoonists of Ranga Ji's calibre ... PRAKASH SHETTY'S TOON CLINIC, KOCHI, KERALA. |
| Triambak
Sharma W(Cartoonist, Raipur) |
Hi
Sekharjee, It was very sad news for all the cartoonist of India that renowned Ranga is no more. We the cartoonist of Chhattisgarh state paid tribute to the death soul during the program of 100th birth anniversary of Shankar Pillai on July 31, 2002 at Raipur. It is worth to mention that Ranga started his carrer through 'Shankar's Weekly' and it was coincidence that we paid tribute to him on the 100th birth anniversary of cartoonist Shankar. This program was organised by our magazine, Cartoon Watch. with regards ... TRIAMBAK SHARMA Editor, Cartoon Watch. Raipur |
| Priya
Raj W (Management Cartoonist) |
Ranga
was a great cartoonist. I have seen his work from my formative years in magazines like 'Dinman'. His minimalistic approach to cartoon art was very different than many of his contemporaries where art used to take precedence over idea. Moreover his caricatures were unique in getting the resemblence of the face and even expressions in a few lines. Ever-present to support the new breed of cartoonists,I can not forget his presence in my book-launch in Delhi when he was there at a short notice. Ranga needs much more from the world of journalism as well as from cartoons than mere a condolence message and mention in the columns of a few news-magazines. Ranga will forever be remembered by all who have been touched by him in person or through his cartoons and caricatures.... PRIYA RAJ Author of 'Under The Pyramid' and 'Counterpoint' PriyaRaj.com |
| Please send your condolense messages at info@shekhargurera.com | |
| MMCopyright: 2002@ ShekharGurera.com |