Hyderabad: Going beyond his niche of landing spacecraft on the Moon and planning missions to Venus, Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman S. Somanath, surprised many with his cartooning skills at an exhibition at Ravindra Bharati on Tuesday.
Dr Somanath was inaugurating ‘Space Toons’, a cartoon exhibition organised by Hyderabad Forum for Political Cartoonists.
“Not many people are aware of the fact that Dr Somanath was a cartoonist. Not a single cartoon-related event goes by where he is invited and does not go,” said Narsimha, president of the Hyderabad Forum for Political Cartoonists.
Dr Somanath explained, “I am a rocket scientist who is extremely passionate about cartoons. This is because of the exposure we were provided in Kerala during my childhood. Besides being politically critical and satirical, cartoons are also philosophical. It is not just the sketch but the philosophy exhibited through it that catches my attention.”
He said that he liked the cartoon by R.K. Laxman where the common man says he is the best person to go to space because he can survive without food, water and air. Dr Somanath emphasised the importance of preserving India’s rich cartoon tradition and encouraged more focus on cartooning as part of Telangana's cultural heritage.
In an interaction with school students, he pointed out that students are not aware of the career path they need to take to enter the field of space science.
When asked by a student on India’s achievements in space being perceived globally, he said, “This is an important question for us as 50 years back when ISRO started, people were very critical of us. Today we are planning to send a manned crew to moon but world doesn’t ask questions but appreciates our efforts. This has happened due to the critical role visionaries have played in the history of ISRO. They didn’t give up when things were not good. Today India is the 5th in the world in terms of space technology because of their efforts.”
Tourism minister Jupally Krishna Rao and education principal secretary Burra Venkatesh attended the event, with the official announcing a cartoon competition at various educational levels on themes chosen by Dr Somanath: 'Alien Amongst Us,' 'Space and Economy,' and 'India vs. Global Space Powers.' Other organisers of the event included Kerala Cartoon Academy and Confederation of Telugu Malayalee Associations.
