Bansilal Verma (1917–2003), better known by his pen name Chakor, was a cartoonist and illustrator from

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the nin ...

, India.

Life

Bansilal Verma was born on 23 November 1917 at Chotiya village near Taranga (now in

Mehsana district Mehsana district (alternate spelling "Mahesana") is one of the 33 districts of Gujarat state in western India. Mehsana city is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district has a population of over 1.8 million and an area of ...

, Gujarat) to Jamnagauri and Gulabrai. His family belonged to

Vadnagar Vadnagar is a town and municipality in the Mehsana district of the state of Gujarat in India. It just about 35 km from Mehsana city. Its ancient name was Anartapura, and was also known as Anandapura. It was a Buddhist location visited by ...

from where he

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

. He was inspired by

Raja Ravi Verma Raja Ravi Varma ( ml, രാജാ രവിവർമ്മ; 29 April 1848 – 2 October 1906) was an Indian painter and artist. He is considered among the greatest painters in the history of Indian art. His works are one of the best examples ...

and used to draw paintings of gods and goddesses. During his teen years, he moved to Ahmedabad from Vadnagar and joined artist

Ravishankar Raval Ravishankar Raval (1892–1977) was a painter, art teacher, art critic, journalist and essayist from Gujarat, India. He worked for the magazine ''Vismi Sadi'' until it closed in 1921, and then founded the cultural magazine ''Kumar''. Life Ravis ...

to learn the art in 1935. In 1936, he served as an artist for three months in

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divisio ...

session of

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...

. He also met

Nandalal Bose Nandalal Bose (3 December 1882 – 16 April 1966) was one of the pioneers of modern Indian art and a key figure of Contextual Modernism. A pupil of Abanindranath Tagore, Bose was known for his "Indian style" of painting. He became the princip ...

. In 1937, he joined ''Navsaurashtra'', edited by Kakalbhai Kothari, as a cartoonist. He also contributed to the

Indian Independence Movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

by drawing posters, banners and cartoons. He also drew cartoons for ''Prajabandhu'' weekly, ''Gati'' and ''Rekha'' magazines edited by

Jayanti Dalal Jayanti Ghelabhai Dalal (18 November 1909 – 24 August 1970) was an Indian author, publisher, stage actor, director and politician. Born in family of theatre organiser and involved in politics during and after independence of India, he was infl ...

. In 1948, he went to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the '' de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the sec ...

and joined ''Hindustan'' daily. After the death of

Sardar Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar, was an Indian lawyer, influential political leader, barrister and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of I ...

, ''Hindustan'' stopped. Bansilal Verma then worked with ''Janmabhoomi'' from 1955 to 1959. In 1959, he joined the English daily ''

The Free Press Journal ''The Free Press Journal'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper that was established in 1928 by Swaminathan Sadanand, who also acted as its first editor. First produced to complement a news agency, the Free Press of India, it was a sup ...

'' and his cartoons were also published in the

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

daily ''Janshakti''. His cartoons on politics and politician were influential. Due to political pressure, he left that job in 1972. In 1978, he came to Ahmedabad and joined '' Sandesh'' where he worked for years. He also illustrated several books and magazines. He died on 8 August 2003.

Works

He drew under pen names Chakor, Bansi and Kishor Vakil. His illustration of Indian lady welcoming with folded hand is very popular. His books of cartoons and caricatures are also published. His large number of cartoons are published in newspapers and magazines. He had also painted domes of some

Jain temple A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings ge ...

s, 25 paintings, large number of illustrations and covers for books. ''Vamanmathi Virat'' is his notable collection of cartoons on

Lal Bahadur Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri (; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963. He promoted the White R ...

. He also illustrated two colouring books published by Khadi and Gramodyog. He has published children's comic books; ''Hanuman'', ''Shiv-Parvati'', ''Karna'', ''Vikram Ane Vetal'' and ''Veer Balko''. Some of his paintings are stored in Mysore Art Gallery. His humour articles are collected in ''Vinod Vatika''. He has written essays such as ''Bharatma Angreji Amal'' and ''Shantimay Kranti''.

Recognition

He won a prize at Third International Salon of Cartoons in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, Canada for a cartoon titled ''If Dragon Comes To UN'', published in ''The Free Press Journal''. He had also received ''Sanskar Award'', ''Surat Lions Shield'', ''Kamalashankar Pandya Award'' and ''Vadnagar Nagrik Sanman''. He received Ravishankar Raval Award instituted by

Government of Gujarat The Government of Gujarat, also known as Gujarat Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Gujarat and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive of the legislators appointed by the Governor of Gujarat, a judiciar ...

. A square near Vasna-Pirana bridge in Ahmedabad is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verma, Bansilal 1917 births 2003 deaths Writers from Gujarat Indian editorial cartoonists Artists from Gujarat 20th-century Indian painters People from Mehsana district Painters from Gujarat