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Bengaluru: The Indian Institute of Cartoonists is organising an exhibition of selected cartoons and photos of Bal Thackeray, a legendary cartoonist and founder of the right-wing parochial Shiv Sena regional party on the eve of his birth centenary. The exhibition runs from Saturday, 03 October to 19 November at the Indian Institute of Cartoonists here. Career begins as a Cartoonist: Bal Keshav Thackeray, popularly known as Balasaheb Thackeray, began his career as a cartoonist at the Free Press Journal in Mumbai, and his cartoons also appeared in the Sunday edition of The Times of India. News Day for a couple of months! Following differences with the Free Press Journal, Bal Thackeray, he and five others, including George Fernandes, a trade union activist turned socialist leader, deserted the paper and ventured into their own daily called News Day. However, News Day survived only for a couple of months! Launches cartoon weekly, Marmik: Bal Thackeray launched Marmik, a cartoon weekly wi...

‘Giant Killer’ George Fernandes passes away unnoticingly! A rare jewel in the present day politics in the form of Socialist and Trade Union leader George Fernandes is no more. His demise after a prolonged attack of Alzheimer’s disease and having remained literally a vegetable for years together is unthinkable of a fearless public figure known for volatile and candid remarks in public. Born in a joint catholic family of six children at Mangaluru in Karnataka, George as a lad of 16 years landed in Bengaluru to become the priest of a church. However within three years of his stint as a Christian missionary he underwent enough experience to realize the paradoxical situation on what was being preached and practiced. He quit his priesthood and reached the then Bombay not knowing what to do! Initially he had no one to stay in the country’s business capital and did petty jobs for livelihood sleeping in bus and railway stations. While loitering in this fashion he also got an opp...