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Deccan Chronicle cartoonist Sudhir Tailang passes away at 56

Sudhir Tailang's career of over three decades was cruelly cut short by brain cancer on February 6. Sudhir would have been 56 on Feb 26.

By :  arka sengupta
Update: 2016-02-07 05:30 GMT
udhir Tailang was deeply suspicious of all authority. And he was completely unafraid. This is what made him India's finest contemporary political cartoonist. (Photo: DC)
On his blog Sudhir repeated one of his favourite lines, that though he had to work very hard he could always count on the politicians to work for him full-time.
When Sudhir Tailang wielded his brush like a weapon the ink could turn to blood. His was not an easy job, he would say.
Veteran BJP leader LK Advani described Tailang as an outstanding artist, full of life and humour who will always be remembered for his exceptional work.
\"Saddened at his untimely death, Gandhi said that his depiction of contemporary events through cartoons and fearless commitment to the right to artistic expression will be forever remembered,\" the AICC tweeted.
In 2009, he had come out with a book of cartoons titled \"No, Prime Minister\", which carried cartoons on Manmohan Singh drawn during first stint of his prime ministership
It was in 1982, when he got his first major break in Illustrated Weekly of India, Mumbai.
He began with Indira Gandhi early in his career and thereafter spared no one. No subject was taboo and even an incomplete list of his assassinations would require a lengthy chargesheet.
\"He was fighting brain cancer since 2014 very bravely. However, after last Diwali, he started keeping unwell and was admitted to Medanta hospital. We brought him home in mid January when the doctors said there is nothing more they could do. He passed away at 1pm,\" said Aditi, Tailang's daughter.
Eminent cartoonist Sudhir Tailang's last cartoon published onOctober 26, 2015. He succumbed to brain cancer on Saturday after battling it for almost two years.
As a child, Tailang was fascinated by comics such as Tintin, Phantom and Blondie, which is known to have encouraged him to go for drawing cartoons.
Mr Tailang, who was born in Rajasthan's Bikaner on February 26, 1960, had his first cartoon published in a newspaper at the age of 10 in 1970.
Tailang was awarded a Padma Shri in 2004. As a cartoonist, many politicians including Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Atal Behari Vajpayee, PV Narasimha Rao, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi bore the brunt of his brush.
The years of drawing for various leading newspapers of the country had honed his paintbrush to a rapier points always seeking the tenderest spot, pricking, thrusting, never a wild slash.
The cartoonist, who had a long association with a number of newspapers, was admitted to Medanta Medicity Hospital in Gurgaon in December but was brought home around a month ago.
A career of over three decades was cruelly cut short by brain cancer on February 6. Sudhir would have been 56 on February 26
Survived by his wife and daughter, Tailang had been under treatment for brain cancer since 2014 and breathed last at his East Delhi residence in Mayur Vihar.
Sudhir Tailang's career of over three decades was cruelly cut short by brain cancer on February 6. Sudhir would have been 56 on Feb 26.

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