President MR as the cartoonists’ delight
P>Disna MUDALIGE
Cartoons have been a powerful form of communication since their
origin. Cartoons are loved by all irrespective of age differences. Often
a message communicated through a cartoon is more effective than thousand
written words. A cartoon has no language barriers and its message can be
spread across the world.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa visiting the Deyata Kirula stall on
newspaper cartoons relating to him. |
Cartoons in newspapers have been all time favourites among readers.
They have become an indispensable feature in newspapers providing humour,
entertainment and relaxation to the readers. In the print media,
political cartoons which depict the issues of the current political
scenario of the country and the world have gained much importance among
other cartoons. Most of these contain a blend of wisdom and
entertainment.
A cartoon is a silent art form which has an immense hidden potential
to awaken the people. The first newspaper cartoon in Sri Lanka was drawn
by G. S. Fernando in the Swadesha Mitraya newspaper in 1931 criticizing
the recommendations of the Donoughmore Commission. The pioneer in
popularizing formal political cartoons is said to be Aubrey Collette who
was associated with the Times of Ceylon. With the development of
computer technology and graphic designs, this art form has gathered
momentum in the present era.
Political cartoons are often levelled at political figures with the
power of decision making. When considering the Sri Lankan context, the
Head of State has always been the key inspiration of cartoonists in
print media. At times these cartoons have been favourable and
appreciative, whereas at times these have been critical and sarcastic.
Head of State in cartoons
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, being the present Head of State and an
influential political personality has been the subject of an
unprecedented number of cartoons in Sri Lankan print media compared to
other political leaders in the country in the past and in the present.
Being thoughtful of this fact, Mass Media and Information Ministry
Secretary W. B. Ganegala has compiled an anthology of cartoons,
published in all daily and weekly newspapers in the Sinhala, English and
Tamil languages, relating to President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The anthology named ‘Serada Mahinda’ (Long Live Mahinda) comes in
volumes as an annual collection of cartoons since 2006. The latest and
sixth volume in this series containing the work in 2011 was published
recently. Commenting on the cartoon collection relating to President
Rajapaksa, Ganegala observed that as a whole, the cartoonists show
through their delicate observations, the maturity and efficiency of the
President in meeting day- to-day political challenges and the ways in
which he would turn any adverse situation to one of advantage.
The two cartoons which appeared in Indian newspapers. |
“I have included all cartoons related to the President without
censoring, and it can be noted that about 95 percent of them are
favourable to him and appreciating his calibre. It is inspiring to see
how even cartoonists in newspapers representing the Opposition have
appreciated the incomparable political stature of President Mahinda
Rajapaksa,” he remarked.
Ganegala revealed that the latest volume also includes two cartoons
published in Indian newspapers; ‘Indian Express’ and ‘The Hindu’ on June
11 and March 17 respectively. He observed that collecting and preserving
these cartoons would be useful for the reference of future generations.
He noted that the political scene behind a cartoon can be recollected at
any time, and this collection is like a history book which enables
anybody to go through history with a smile.
He said that copies of these books were distributed among foreign
missions in Sri Lanka as well as Sri Lankan missions representing the
country aboard. This anthology of cartoons has also been distributed to
leading school libraries, all the Ministers and MPs free of charge.
Ganegala observed that the Deyata Kirula exhibition stall on cartoons
relating to the President attracted a huge crowd. He noted that the
commentary books at the stall were filled with encouraging and valuable
comments of the visitors depicting the mirror image of the country. Even
the President had made a visit to the stall. About 250 copies of the 'Serada
Mahinda’ anthology were sold at the Deyata Kirula stall. “It was not
published for commercial purposes. However during the exhibition we sold
it to the public with a 40 percent discount”, he said.
Serada Mahinda
The series of ‘Serada Mahinda’ cartoon collection. Pictures by
Nissanka Wijeratne |
The entire collection of six volumes contains about 2,360 cartoons
from about 20 cartoonists in the country. The majority of the cartoons
talk about the positive side of the performances of the President
including his personality, leadership qualities, his vision for the
future, media friendly manner and how he tackles very serious political
issues wisely.
Ganegala said that he was extremely happy to initiate this endeavour
for a patriotic, charismatic and exemplary leader like President Mahinda
Rajapaksa whose bravery, wisdom and feelings for the country are
incomparable.
The first book of the series contains a valuable article on the
development of cartoons as a refined art by veteran journalist Edwin
Ariyadasa. Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Mass Media and
Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and Colombo University Sinhala
Department Professor Sarath Wijesuriya have also made valuable
contributions to the anthology by supplying messages and articles.
This series is the first mega collection of cartoons relating to a
Sri Lankan political leader. The specialty of these books is that they
were published during the tenure of the President. The cartoons in this
collection also stand as a proof of the media freedom in the country.
The cartoons exuding soft satire, humour, confrontation, exaggeration,
social rectification, attitude formation, can be seen in this entire
collection. |