Abu Abraham
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Abu Abraham (June 11, 1924 - December 1, 2002) was an Indian cartoonist, journalist, and author. In a long career spanning 40 years, Abu Abraham lend his service to a broad spectrum of national and international newspaper dailies including The Bombay Chronicle, Shankar’s Weekly, Blitz, The Tribune, The Observer (1956-66), The Guardian (1966-69), and The Indian Express.
Born in Mavelikkara, Kerala as the son of A.M. Mathew and Kantamma, Abu started drawing cartoons at the age of 3. After graduating from the University College, Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), he started his career as a journalist in The Bombay Chronicle. After working there for 3 years he went on to work in the Shankar’s Weekly.
At 32, Abu landed in London searching for a niche in the world of cartoons. While working in The Tribune, he got a personal letter from the legendary David Astor offering him a permanent job in The Observer, the oldest newspaper in Britain, which he gladly accepted. Years later, he winded up his years in Britain following a brief stint with The Guardian _ a total of 16 creative years _ he returned to India in 1969.
In 1972 he was elected to Rajya Sabha for 6 years. When in 1975 Indian Emergency was declared and the freedom of the press was suspended, Abu fell out of favor with Indira Gandhi. The direct result of this was the publication of the book Games of the Emergency in 1977, which contained the political articles and cartoons that he could not print during the Emergency. His final halt as a cartooning journalist was with The Indian Express till 1981.
The cartoons and articles of Abu Abraham were a regular feature of the leading newspapers and periodicals in India and abroad. Besides the Games of the Emergency he also wrote two other books Abu On Bangladesh (1972) and Arrivals and Departures (1981). He also edited the book Verdicts of Vietnam (considered to be the bible of cartoon lovers), a compilation of cartoons around the world dealing with the topic of the Vietnam War, both for and against it.
The hallmark of Abu Abraham’s cartoons was their merciless attack upon the corruption in politics. As a mark of the man, his cartoons were an assortment of simple lines that stood out for their directness of expression augmented by arresting punch lines that never missed the mark.
Abu is survived by his British-born wife Psyche after his divorce from Sarojini, from Tamil Nadu. He has 2 daughters Aysha and Janaki from his first marriage.
