The following Insight section features the work of the cartoonists for Hinduism Today. It is a seven page cartoon special which is largely graphic in nature. The brief profiles that follow are only the artists introduction portion of this article. We encourage our web surfers to check out the hard copy of the magazine for this wonderful collection of cartoons for the lighter side of Hinduism.

MANICK SORCAR
Electrical engineer of Denver, Colorado, and son of the late P.C. Sorcar, India’s legendary magician, Manick Sorcar is undoubtedly a top expresser of the US Indian immigrant experience. His illustrations, touching the heart of cultural integration challenges, are compiled in two volumes–The Melting Pot, Indians in America, and Spices in the Melting Pot, both available via his website at www.manicksorcar.com. But Sorcar doesn’t stop here. What began as an effort to teach his two daughters their heritage, led him to create an award-winning series of one-man animated videos for children, mixing his hand-drawn art with computer-generated art and animation, along with original music, to showcase Indian culture.

BOB THAVES
Frank & Ernest are the stars of Bob Thaves’ innovative single-panel comic strip. Celebrating their 25th anniversary this year and read by 25 million people daily, Frank & Ernest are as comfortable offering whimsical comments on the creation of the universe as they are about taxes or software. Drawing since boyhood, Bob’s formal art training consisted of studying various cartoonists and their work. As a boy, he could identify cartoons by different cartoonists without being able to see their signatures. More than 2,000 episodes of Frank & Ernest may be found at www.frankandernest.com.

BILL WATTERSON
Bill is the creator of Calvin & Hobbes, an engaging chronicle of a six-year-old’s psyche, which appeared in more than 2,400 newspapers when it ceased publication January 1, 1996. In announcing his retirement, Bill said he was eager to work at a more thoughtful pace, with fewer artistic compromises.

BARY GELLER
Barry Geller, 64, is the creator of Karma Kat and a devotee of Swami Prakashanand Saraswati. He raised a family of three children and became a graphic designer and illustrator. His work was published in well known consumer magazines including Fortune, Time, Cosmopolitan, Esquire and others. His awards include citations of merit from the New York Society of Illustrators and publication of his work in the Swiss graphic arts annual, Graphis. Barry and his wife, Nan, now live at Barsana Dham in Austin, Texas.

MARIO DE MIRANDA
One of India’s finest cartoonists, Mario was born at Daman in 1936, grew up in Goa and was educated at Bangalore and Mumbai. After working many years for The Times of India, he now freelances, drawing for The Economic Times and a strip for The Afternoon in Mumbai. He is married, has two sons and lives in Goa. Check out his three gatefold toons and the Mumbai scene on the right.

RANDY GLASBERGEN
Randy lives with his family in New York. He began his cartooning career in high school. Besides one year as a staff writer at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, he has been a full-time freelance cartoonist since 1972. More than 20,000 of his cartoons and comic illustrations have been published around the world. More of his cartoons may be found at www.norwich.net/~randyg/toon.html

R. K. LAXMAN
Laxman was born in 1924 in Karnataka. Graduating from Mysore University, he drew cartoons for Free Press Journal in Mumbai and later joined The Times of India, where he’s been a staff cartoonist for 45 years. Often referred to as “Mr. Times of India,” he appears daily on page one. He is married, has a son and lives in Mumbai.

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