Yesudasan – An outline of his Life

Yesudasan was a well-known cartoonist in Kerala, born on June 12, 1938, in Bharanikkavu, near Mavelikara. He began drawing on the sand floor of his classrooms, but he only took his art seriously after graduation. His first cartoon series was ‘Chandu’, published in Janayugam Weekly. He made significant contributions to pocket cartoons through the Kittummavan series in Janayugam, which is the official daily of the Communist Party of India. This work made him very popular among the people of Kerala. Additionally, he created memorable characters such as Mrs. Nair in Vanitha Magazine, as well as Ponnamma Suprent and Jubba Chettan, which he gifted to his readers.

In 1963, he joined Shankar’s Weekly as a disciple of Shankar, who was regarded as the uncrowned king of cartoonists in India and engaged in political cartoons till the emergency period. At the instigation of C. Achutha Menon, who was then a member of the Rajya Sabha, he returned to Kerala to take the responsibility of Balayugam, a Malayalam magazine for children. Soon after, following Shankar’s Weekly style, he started a political satire titled ‘Asadhu’ and film satires like ‘Cut-Cut’ and ‘Tuk-Tuk’. After discontinuing these publications, he joined Malayala Manorama as a staff cartoonist and continued there for the next twenty-four years. He had also worked with news dailies like Metro Vaartha and Deshabhimani.

Yesudasan was the founding president of the Kerala Cartoon Academy and had also served as the president and vice president of the Kerala Lalithakala Academy. His cartoons have been published in various Malayalam periodicals as well as in English and Hindi publications.

His first cartoon featured American Secretary of State John Douglas, who had earned the nickname ‘warmonger’, dancing merrily with an atom bomb. This appeared in a magazine titled Ashoka, published from Kottayam, under the editorship of Pandalam K.P. His first cartoon series, Chandu, named so by Vaikom Chandrasekharan Nair, appeared in Janayugam.

During the Liberation Struggle period in Kerala, at the behest of the editorial committee of Janayugam, Yesudasan started the pocket cartoon ‘Kittummavan’ from July 19, 1959, onwards. Kittummavan, who had his views on anything under the sun, captured the imagination of people in a short period. Along with this cartoon character, several other characters began to appear, like Paili, Karthyayani, Cheviyan Pappu, Chayakkadakkaran Mammonju, Kadhikan Kinattukuzhi, Ayalkkaran Velupilla, Mathaned and so on. They were so popular that many started to come to Communist Party meetings in Kerala dressed as these characters.

Yesudasan was fortunate to receive training from Shankar while at Shankar’s Weekly. What sets him apart is the simplicity of his drawing and his focus on details.

When Yesudasan created cartoons, the political landscape was characterised by coalition fronts. In any

news value, you often find a set group of typical figures-top leaders, their subordinates, their inner circle, and those who manipulate behind the scenes. This is also reflected in his cartoons. He rarely focused on just one or two characters; instead, most of his cartoons feature a crowd.

Yesudasan was particularly gifted at capturing the intricate features of a face in his drawings. Among his caricatures, the most notable one is that of E.M.S. Namboothirippad. Yesudasan skillfully portrayed E.M.S with a pronounced forehead and a uniquely shaped head featuring a deep dent, giving him a philosophical look. This caricature was widely imitated, making him a permanent middle-aged person.

Yesudasan wrote the dialogues for the 1984 film Panchavadippalam, directed by K.G. George and wrote the script for the 1992 film, Ente Ponnu Thampuran, directed by A.T. Abu. In addition to that, he has published seven books under his name and has been honoured with various awards for his contributions.

He passed away on October 6, 2021, in Kochi. His wife, Mercy Yesudasan, passed away on March 6, 2025. His children are Sanu Yesudasan, Sethu Yesudasan, and Suku Yesudasan. Jaymol Sanu and Alexy Suku are his daughters-in-law. He has four grandchildren: Sanju Sanudas, Sneha Sanudas, Aadi Sukudas and Yati Sukudas.