#DebonairDays – 1980’s English Language Print Media In Mumbai by Suraj Sriram: Talk 308
The early 1980s in Mumbai was a boom time for journalism. With the widespread availability of DTP and four colour off-set printing, older newspapers, tabloids and magazines began to spruce up their appearance and revamp their content. Many new ones, like Mid-Day, Daily, Society, Gentleman, Debonair, Business India, Sunday Observer, Update and Probe came into circulation. Imprint decided to redo its format. There was a fierce competition to catch the eyes of the public, especially those that browsed and bought them from street vendors. Publishers began to use bold images, including caricatures and cartoon illustrations, on their front pages. At our Online Talk #DebonairDays, veteran cartoonist Suraj Sriram, who signed off as Eskay, takes us back to those times. He will talk about his interactions with editors and publishers from that era and share a few of his cartoons and illustrations that were published then.
About the speaker:
Suraj Sriram, known in media circles by his pen name Eskay, is a well-known editorial cartoonist and illustrator, whose work has been published in numerous leading newspapers and magazines in India and the US for more than four decades. In the late 1970’s and early ‘80’s, his editorial cartoons, illustrations and caricatures appeared regularly in the Sunday edition of the national newspaper Indian Express and the weekly tabloid Blitz. He went to the US in 1985 and continued cartooning and illustrating for publications there. He also taught cartoon art in various institutions in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. He is currently the Project Director of the Museum of Cartoon Art that he designed and set up in Savitribai Phule Pune University. He is also the author of six books.