Maya Kamath (1951-2001) was an Indian cartoonist. Born in

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 second- ...

, India, Kamath spent her formative years in

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 w ...

, and acquired an MA in English literature. Drawing was a childhood hobby and she became an illustrator with Macmillan publishers and a drawing teacher at Sophia's School. It was the sight of sketches in a book titled '' For Better or for Worse'', by

Lynn Johnston Lynn Johnston (born May 28, 1947) is a Canadian cartoonist and author, best known for her newspaper comic strip '' For Better or For Worse''. She was the first woman and first Canadian to win the National Cartoonist Society's Reuben Award. Ea ...

, that inspired her to draw cartoons . Kamath's career as a cartoonist began in 1985 with ''The Evening Herald'' a publication of the

Deccan Herald ''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by K. N. Guruswamy, a liquor businessman from Ballari and was launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Printe ...

group. She later worked for Indian newspapers such as ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...

'', ''

The Asian Age ''The Asian Age'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper with editions published in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. It also prints an "international edition" in London. It was launched in February 1994. The same publishing company also prod ...

'' and ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

''. She also contributed environmental cartoons in a German collection called ''Third World''. In October 1998, the

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

Cartoonists' Association presented her with an award at their 7th Cartoonists' Conference. Her collection is currently with SPARROW link below and has been published as ''The World of MAYA''. At the time of her death Kamath was India's only female political cartoonist.

Maya Kamath Memorial Award

Kamath died at the age of 50. Her husband, Amarnath Kamath, instituted the annual Maya Kamath Memorial Award (MKMA) in 2008 under the aegis of the

Indian Institute of Cartoonists Indian Institute of Cartoonists is an organisation based in Bangalore that serves to promote and preserve cartooning and cartoonists in India. Founded in 2001, the institute hosts the Indian Cartoon Gallery with rotating exhibits focusing on di ...

. It recognises excellence in cartooning and is followed by an exhibition of the cartoons at the Indian Cartoon Gallery.Maya Kamath Award 2009
By Agrawal, Ruchita in Daily News & Analysis, May 18, 2010]

References

External links

homage by cartoonist of India

In the world of Maya
Indian cartoonists 1951 births 2001 deaths {{cartoonist-stub