Pran Kumar Sharma (15 August 1938 – 5 August 2014), better known as Pran, was an Indian cartoonist best known as the creator of '' Chacha Chaudhary'' (1971). He also created other characters like Shrimatiji,

Pinki Pinki may refer to: *Boško Palkovljević Pinki, People's Hero of Yu ...

Billoo Billoo ( Hindi: बिल्लू) is an Indian comic character created by Pran Kumar Sharma and first appeared in print in 1973 in his self-titled series, published by Diamond Comics. The stories are set in and around Delhi circa seventies and ...

, Raman, and Channi Chachi.

Early life and education

Born in Kasur,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, Pran graduated with a BA from Gwalior and Master of Arts (Political Science) degree from evening Camp College,

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...

. He then pursued a five-year course in

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwo ...

from Sir J. J. School of Art,

Mumbai 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 secon ...

through distance as a private student while in Delhi, so that he could apply as a drawing teacher at schools, but he discontinued.

Career

Pran began his career in 1960 as a cartoonist for the

-based newspaper ''Milap'' with comic strip '' Daabu''. Apart from ''Daabu'', Indian comics scenario was largely based on reprints of

The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The ch ...

and Superman. In 1969, Pran sketched Chacha Chaudhary for the

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

magazine '' Lotpot'', which made him famous. Pran has also created other cartoon characters like '' Shrimatiji'', ''

Pinki Pinki may refer to: *Boško Palkovljević Pinki, People's Hero of Yu ...

'', ''

'', ''Raman'', ''

Channi Chachi Pran Kumar Sharma (15 August 1938 – 5 August 2014), better known as Pran, was an Indian cartoonist best known as the creator of ''Chacha Chaudhary'' (1971). He also created other characters like Shrimatiji, Pinki, Billoo, Raman, and Channi ...

'' and others, which are regularly published in Indian magazines. Pran reached lakhs of Kannadigas through his Putti, Raman that were published in Kannada daily Prajavani and Shrimathi which publishes in Kannada magazine Sudha. He was included in ''People of the Year 1995'' by Limca Book of Records for popularizing comics in India.Pran profile
''Indian Institute of Cartoonists'' In 1983, the then

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India ( IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of th ...

, Mrs. Indira Gandhi released Pran's comics "''Raman - Ham Ek Hain''" which promoted national integration. Pran received a ''Lifetime Achievement Award'' 2001, from Indian Institute of Cartoonists. Pran has also given lessons in cartooning at the Pran's Media Institute, run by his son Nikhil..

Maurice Horn Maurice Horn (born 1931) is a French-American comics historian, author, and editor, considered to be one of the first serious academics to study comics. He is the editor of ''The World Encyclopedia of Comics'', ''The World Encyclopedia of Carto ...

notes that Pran has been given the title of "

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

of India" in ''The World Encyclopedia of Comics''. The Chacha Chaudhary strips find permanent place in International Museum of Cartoon Art, United States.

Death

He had been suffering from

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

and subsequently was admitted to a hospital in Gurgaon, where he died on 5 August 2014 at approximately 9:30 pm local time.Kim Arrora (7 August
"Pran, creator of Chacha Chaudhary, dies at 75,"
''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...

'' (Mumbai) captured at 4:49am 7 August. He was posthumously awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is confe ...

, the fourth highest civilian award of India, in 2015.

References

External links

Pran's Features LLP
Pran profile
at ''Indian Institute of Cartoonists''
TBI Tribute: Pran – The Man Who Gave Life To India’s Favourite Cartoon Characters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharma, Pran Kumar 1938 births 2014 deaths Indian cartoonists Indian comics artists Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art alumni People from Kasur District People from Delhi Deaths from cancer in India Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Diamond Comics