Athippatta Sivaraman Nair (c. 1930 – 30 June 1988), better known as A. S. Nair ( ml, എ. എസ്. നായർ) or simply A. S., was a

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

and

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

from Kerala, India. He was born in

Karalmanna Karalmanna is a south Indian village in the erstwhile state of Valluvanad along the banks of the Thootha, a tributary of the river Nila in Palakkad district of Kerala. It is connected to the nearby small towns of Cherpulassery and Perintalma ...

village of

Palakkad district Palakkad District () is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It was carved out from the southeastern region of the former Malabar District on 1 January 1957. It is located at the centre of Kerala. It is the largest district i ...

and had his training from Madras School of Arts. He began his career in ''Jayakerala'' and '' Mathrubhumi'', where he worked till his last. Most of Nair's works were original illustrations for novels and short stories, most of them published in ''Mathrubhumi weekly''. Illustrations for the Malayalam translation of

V. S. Khandekar Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar (11 January 1898 – 2 September 1976) was a Marathi writer from Maharashtra, India. He was the first Marathi author to win the prestigious Jnanpith Award. Early life Khandekar was born on 11 January 1898 in S ...

's Marathi novel ''Yayati'' was one of his most noted works. He was known to be the master of illustration in Kerala and has 115 original works, including illustrations and a few paintings to his credit. He died on 30 June 1988, aged just 57. ''Chitrangal A.S.'' (Current Books), edited by R. J. Prasad, collects Nair's writings, illustrations and covers.

References

;Sources
Sketches by A. S. Nair and other Kerala illustrators
20th-century Indian painters Painters from Kerala People from Palakkad district Year of birth missing 1988 deaths Indian editorial cartoonists Indian male painters 20th-century Indian male artists {{cartoonist-stub