Malik Sajad is a

graphic novelist developed specialized terminology. Several attempts have been made to formalize and define the terminology of comics by authors such as Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, R. C. Harvey and Dylan Horrocks. Much of the terminology in English is under ...

based in

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

. His debut

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

, ''Munnu - A Boy from Kashmir'' was released with critical acclaim and won the ''Verve Story Teller of The Year'' award. The debut novel was made a part of the permanent collection (Artists' Books) at the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

in New York and his sketches have been compared to the work of

Art Spiegelman Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman ( ; born February 15, 1948), professionally known as Art Spiegelman, is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel ''Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazin ...

such as ''Maus'' and work of

Marjane Satrapi Marjane Satrapi (; ; born 22 November 1969) is a French-Iranian graphic novelist, cartoonist, illustrator, film director, and children's book author. Her best-known works include the graphic novel ''Persepolis (comics), Persepolis'' and Persepo ...

such as ''Persepolis''. Sajad's debut novel was released in 2015 in Britain, but it took another six months for it to come out in India. The publisher, ''Fourth Estate'', told him that the authorities were slow to provide the ISBN that all published books must have.

Recognitions

Malik is an Inlaks Scholar (2011) and OMI Francis Greenburger (2013) fellow.

As a cartoonist

Sajad was 14 when he started working as a cartoonist, for a regional newspaper,

Greater Kashmir ''Greater Kashmir'' is an English daily newspaper printed and published from Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The newspaper initially began its edition in 1987 as a weekly newspaper and later, started its first daily publicati ...

. It was a lead story in 2005-06 by journalist, Arif Shafi Wani about endangered Kashmiri deer in Kashmiri forests, from where he drew inspiration, for his debut novel, by comparing Kashmiris with ''Hanguls'' as humanoids.

Influences

Graphic novels such as ''Relatively Indolent But Relentless'' by Matt Freedman, ''Fun Home'' by

Alison Bechdel Alison Bechdel ( ; born September 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist. Originally known for the long-running comic strip ''Dykes to Watch Out For'', she came to critical and commercial success in 2006 with her Graphic novel, graphic memoir ''Fun ...

. Among others, Sajad also likes works of

Käthe Kollwitz Käthe Kollwitz ( born Schmidt; 8 July 186722 April 1945) was a German artist who worked with painting, printmaking (including etching, lithography and woodcuts) and sculpture. Her most famous art cycles, including ''The Weavers'' and ''The Peasa ...

Lynd Ward Lynd Kendall Ward (June 26, 1905 – June 28, 1985) was an American artist and novelist, known for his series of wordless novels using wood engraving, and his illustrations for juvenile and adult books. His wordless novels have influenced ...

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the Graffiti in New York City, New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual l ...

, and work of

Betye Saar Betye Irene Saar (born July 30, 1926) is an American artist known for her work in the medium of Assemblage (art), assemblage. Saar is a visual storyteller and an accomplished printmaker. Saar was a part of the Black Arts Movement in the 1970s, w ...

Positions on Kashmir conflict

Sajad believes that the conflict in Kashmir has 'shaken people like an earthquake'. He says, "everyone witnessed and felt the devastating tremor; some houses fell and the families were buried, some houses developed cracks and some stayed unharmed. This changed the face, structure and traditional landscape of Kashmir forever."Candice
MUNNU: 'Life is precious in Kashmir just like it is everywhere else'
''Fourth Estate''. Retrieved 13 October 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sajad, Malik Indian comic strip cartoonists Indian comics artists Kashmiri people Living people People from Srinagar Indian graphic novelists 21st-century Indian artists 21st-century Indian novelists Year of birth missing (living people)