KAAK, THE CARTOONIST OF MASSES

Born: 16th March 1940, at village Pura, Distt. Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, India

Father: Late Shri Shobhanath Shukla (Freedom Fighter)

First cartoon appeared in national Hindi Daily 'Dainik Jagran' on 6th July 1967.

Regularly appeared as a freelance cartoonist for :-

Periodicals : Dinman, Shankar's weekly, Current, Blitz, Organizer, NewWave, Prajaniti,  Pratipaksha, Aaspass, Hindi Express, Ravivar, Itwari Patrika, Dharamyug, Saptahik Hindustan and many more.

Nationl Dailies : Dainik Jagran, Aaj, Navjeevan, Dainik Tribun, Rajasthan Patrika, Amar Ujala etc. 

Worked as editorial cartoonist :- Jansatta (Indian Express Publication) since 1983 to 1985. Navbharat Times (Times of India group) since July 1985 to Jan. 1999. Presently Working for the popular news portal www.prabhasakshi.com and cartoon website www.kaakdrishti.com. Publishing cartoon oriented fortnightly tabloid Kaaktoons India since 2004.

"KAAK's cartoons have been addressing social, national and international issues in inimitable and candid style for the last 40 years. His cartoons have been instrumental in influencing public opinion and focusing the views of the nation. The name 'KAAK' has been one of the most prominent in the world of cartooning for last four decades. A name which hardly needs an introduction to all sorts of people, whether they belong to the middle class or the upper echelon of the society. His first cartoon was published on 6th July in Dainik Jagran, Kanpur. It was only the beginning of a whole life time of cartooning for this humble mechanical engineer who gave up his secure government job for love of cartoons. He worked as Editorial Cartoonist for mist of the leading Hindi Dailies of the nation for different periods. The list includes Dainik Jagran, Aaj, Dainik Tribune, Rajasthan Patrika, Jansatta before joining. Navbharat Times of Times of India group. Retired form Times group, he is not tired by any means. Sketching cartoons is his life and soul and perhaps comes as naturally to him as talking or breathing. KAAK talks to us through his toons. The reason, his characters are so popular among the masses, is their being so unpretentious, so real, so very like us, the real people. At times happy, at times sad, at times may be even a little vulgar also. Just like their creator, his characters have not forgotten their roots and hardly let their readers do so.

                                                                                     Richa Shukla (Editor Marketing Avenues)