Bal Thackray : A cartoonist who sketched an ideology

We have always seen him as a firm leader addressing the masses,we also know him as a cartoonist.His cartoonist mindset helped him to address people with proper words on appropriate timing for example his reactions were spontaneous and courageous. He began his career as a freelance cartoonist and ended up becoming supremo of a major political party ' Shivsena'. His way to becoming Hindu Hrudaysamrat (king of Hindu hearts ) goes through his canvas ,yes we are talking about Bal Thackray popularly known as "Balasaheb".

Mr. Bal Thackray in his early days in Free Press Journal 

Living in small town called Bhiwandi , his father first observed his child's liking towards drawing and encouraged as well as guided him. His father Mr.Keshav Thackary gifted him a brush which was first of his life, buying a brush was costly affair that time as told by Bal Thackray  in one of his interviews. Bal Thackrays's father Mr.Keshav Thackeray who was also a writer and socialite,used to ask him,"did you draw anything in a day?",after coming home in the evening from his office. Bal Thackray used to observe the cartoons published in the' Times of India 'and try to imitate them. Every day,after returning from his office, father Mr.Keshav Thackray used to compare the cartoons published in' The Times of India' and cartoons by his son.In 1945 Bal Thackray started working in the'Free Press Journal' as a cartoonist, left in 1947 due to some issues with the management. After that he started working for the magazine called ' Film India ',in those days he was also freelancing. Bal Thackray came back to 'Free Press Journal' on 1952 on the special request by ex-editor and also major shareholder of the 'Free Press Journal'  Mr.S. Sadanand  '. Mr. Sadanand made special request to Bal Thackray to rejoin the 'Free Press Journal 'and offered him to pay him heavily. Later working in Free Press, managing director, A.B. Nair once intervened and censored Bal Thackrays cartoons drew on Minu Masani and S.K.Patil prominent leaders of those days. Thackray got angry and asked the peon to type resignation note and submit it to management, and went home.(Bal Thackray used make fun of his name by saying there is AB in his name but does not know ABC of journalism being managing director of the one).

In early sixties Bal Thackray started the magazine called Marmik (subtle) along with his brother Mr.Shrikant Thackray.The name was suggested by his father. Magazine was started with an intention of business through entertaining the people by caricatures and cartoons. It was first such experiment in Marathi language. It quickly became hit due to its sarcastically funny language, social message, funny comments on contemporary happenings and the most important cartoons. Kumar Ketkar, the eminent journalist said in his interview after the demise of Mr.Bal Thackray that, "there was the time when people used to eagerly wait for the magazine".The magazine then started publishing atrocities on Maharashtrians in their own city, later it became campaign and Shivsena the political party formed by going magazine campaign via moment via agitation  route.

Bal Thackray's cartoons were fun along with creative copies. Thackray's bold personality expressed in his caricatures,his lines and strokes were more confident,bold and firm compared to his brother's cartoons,as per his nephew and cartoonist Raj Thackray. Bal Thackray had an ideology which reflected through his cartoons, his ideology was of his father's and of social realism. Bal Thackray was very much impressed by his father's work on social issues which always reflected through Bal Thackray's work.
Bal Thackray was famous for his detailing in cartoons, if he has to draw a bus stop he used to draw what are possible things present around a bus stop and he was opposed to generalizing. Sketching was more important for him than inking. Indira Gandhi was one of his favorite models for cartoon. Thackray used to show her nose longer than normal. He always wanted to take proper education in cartooning but somehow it did not happen then he was happy when his nephew Raj Thackray learnt from the 'JJ school of Arts'. Bal Thackeray's cartoons helped him to form a movement which later turned to political party.Thackray's some of the work , selected by the book "Churchill biography in cartoons ".He himself said once, I became Shivsena supremo only because of my cartoons.He criticized people heavily through his cartoons but always maintained good relations in person. He took forward the legacy of criticizing in funny as well as sarcastic way of his father. Lets hope such legacy of  cartoons will also prevail by many of his fans and fellow artists.



  (Credit http://media.indiatimes.in )