हास्यचित्रांतली मुलं Hasyachitrantli Mulam (Children in Cartoons)

आपण रोज कार्टून पाहतो, पण हास्यचित्र म्हणजे काय हे नेमके सांगणे अवघड असते. सफाईदार रेषांनी काढलेले गमतीदार चित्र म्हणजे हास्यचित्र, जे पाहून हसू येते. व्यंगचित्र हे हास्यचित्राचा पुढचा टप्पा आहे - ते फक्त हसवत नाही, तर काहीतरी विचार करायलाही लावते.

The author explains that we see cartoons every day, so much so that calling them 'caricatures' or 'humorous drawings' makes us pause. If asked to define a humorous drawing, one could say it is 'a funny picture drawn with clean lines,' something that makes us laugh on seeing it. A caricature (vyangchitra) is a step beyond this - it too makes us laugh, but making us laugh is not its only purpose; a caricature makes us laugh while also trying to convey something more, and if we pause to look closely, we notice it carries a witty thought within it.

लहान मुलांची हास्यचित्रे काढणे सर्वांत अवघड मानले जाते, कारण फक्त आकार लहान केला तरी ते लहान मुलाचे वाटतेच असे नाही. शि.द. फडणीस व श्याम जोशी यांसारख्या व्यंगचित्रकारांनी वेगवेगळ्या शैलीत मुले रेखाटली - त्यांच्या रेषा, हालचाली यांतून मुलाचे लहानपण उमटवले.

The author explains that drawing children in caricatures is the hardest task - merely shrinking a figure's size doesn't automatically make it look like a child; drawing a tall figure won't make it look like his son, and removing a moustache or adding a shirt and shorts won't turn a figure into a child either. This is exactly where a cartoonist's skill shows. In the drawings of senior cartoonist Shi. D. Phadnis, thick lines usually depict adults, yet he shows a girl in a frock watering a small plant as tenderly as if feeding a baby milk. Another cartoonist, Shyam Joshi, whose lines are finer and more fluid than Phadnis's, drew a crawling baby with such lifelike movement that it seems truly alive.

अमेरिकन व्यंगचित्रकार डेव्हिड लँग्डनने चतुर मुलगा व मोठ्याने रडणारा मुलगा असे दोन प्रकार दाखवले. आर.के. लक्ष्मण यांच्या व्यंगचित्रात केस कापणारा माणूस व कंटाळलेला मुलगा यांतील फरक फक्त आकारावर नाही तर भावांवरही दिसतो. हंगेरियन व्यंगचित्रकार रेबरने एकाच माणसाला लहानपणी व मोठेपणी व्हायोलिन वाजवताना दाखवून एक गहन विचार मांडला.

In one drawing by American cartoonist David Langdon, a clever boy is shown breaking open a piggy bank, while in another, a boy wails loudly - on closer look, a safety pin pricking him turns out to be the real cause of his cries. In a drawing by the world-renowned R.K. Laxman, a village barber appears full of energy while the boy getting his hair cut looks bored and irritated - though their hands, feet, nose and eyes are identical, the difference in expression alone makes one look grown-up and the other a child. Hungarian cartoonist Réber, in one drawing, showed the same man playing a large violin as a child and a small violin as an adult - through this the cartoonist wanted to convey that children are drawn to 'big' things, and as one grows older, one's passion for a hobby deepens even as the attraction to its outward size fades.

ब्रिटिश व्यंगचित्रकार नॉर्मन थेलवेल यांच्या चित्रात स्काउटच्या मुलाच्या बुटात काहीतरी घुसल्याने तो वेडावाकडा झालेला दाखवला आहे. लेखक शेवटी सांगतात की लहान मुलाचे चित्र काढताना फक्त आकार लहान करून चालत नाही, तर बोटे, नखे, भुवया, दाढी-मिशा नसणे अशा प्रत्येक तपशिलाकडे लक्ष द्यावे लागते.

In a humorous drawing by British cartoonist Norman Thelwell, a boy's cap, shirt and socks and shoes reveal that he is a scout; something has got stuck right in the middle of his boot, and he is shown twisted awkwardly while trying to pull it out, a drawing that thoroughly engages the viewer. The author concludes that when drawing a child, size alone isn't what matters - every body part must be proportionally scaled down: smaller fingers naturally mean smaller nails, children's eyebrows are drawn as thin, single lines, and they have no facial hair. Noting such small details helps one both appreciate and draw caricatures better.