S. D. Phadnis turns 100

Mrinal Chatterjee

Window Seat 

On 29 July, S. D. Phadnis, one of the most well-known cartoonists of contemporary times, turns 100. Born on 29 July 1925 at Bhoj in Belgaun in present day Karnataka, Shankar Dattatraya Phadnis — affectionately known as S. D. Phadnis — is one of the few artists whose work has brought smiles across generations without uttering a single word. His signature style of creating wordless cartoons carved a unique space in Indian visual culture, transcending language, region, and even age.

Phadnis studied art at Sir JJ School of Art, Mumbai. He was interested in cartooning. He moved to Pune in the 1940s and started his career as a cartoonist and comic illustrator, when India was on the cusp of independence. Unlike many of his contemporaries who focused on political commentary, Phadnis steered clear of direct political satire. Instead, he chose the everyday — the husband-wife dynamics, the quirks of middle-class life, the ironies of modernity — as his playground. His humour was gentle, observational, and often tinged with irony, making it accessible and relatable to a vast audience. He drew his first cover for Hans in 1951. He has designed the Diwali special issue of Mohini magazine since 1952.

What set him apart was his ability to tell a complete story in a single frame without using a single word. His characters had expressive faces, dynamic body language, and perfectly timed visual cues. A raised eyebrow, a lopsided moustache, a spilled inkpot — these were the tools of his storytelling. It was this clarity of visual language that made his cartoons timeless. You didn’t need to speak Marathi, Hindi, or English to understand a Phadnis cartoon; you just needed to be human.

He gained national fame through his long association with The Illustrated Weekly of India, where his cartoons featured on the cover and inside pages for decades. His work was also widely circulated in Marathi magazines and newspapers like Mohini and Lokprabha, establishing him as a household name in Maharashtra and beyond. Many of his works have been featured at the International Salon of Cartoonists, Montreel, Canada. Some of his caertoons have been published in the periodicals of USA and Germany. His cartoons have been exhibited in many places in India and abroad.

Phadnis played an important role in popularising cartooning as a respected art form. He designed greeting cards, calendars, and even illustrated books that retained his unmistakable cartoonist's charm. His first book of cartoons was published in 1970.

In his long career as a cartoonist and comic illustrator he has been conferred many awards.  In 2001 he was conferred the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, by Indian Institute of Cartoonists, Bangalore.

At 100, Phadnis stands as a living bridge between eras — from the hand-drawn era of pen-and-ink to the digital age. In a world flooded with memes and social media snark, his quiet, reflective humour reminds us of the enduring power of visual storytelling — and that sometimes, silence can be more eloquent than words.

Hemingway

Hemingway died the year I was born, in 1961. He was born on 21 July 1899.

I first came across Hemingway’s writings, in my eighth class. I still remember it was The Old Man and the Sea in Odia translation. I read the short novel and felt sorry for the old man. And that was that.

I read him again when I was doing my M.A. in English. I had to. He was in our course. But as I read him, his writings are very readable, I got hooked. I read his other novels and short stories and non-fiction writings. And I continue to read him ever after. His immortal line ‘A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” Is like a mantra.

Hemingway is best known for his minimalist writing style, characterized by short sentences and sparse prose, which is often described as the "iceberg theory". This approach, focusing on simplicity and directness, is widely considered his greatest contribution to literature.

Roads and Bridges

I should have named this piece- Potholes, Pilgrimage, and the Great Indian Bridge.

In India, our roads double as obstacle courses, and bridges as suspense thrillers. Crossing a pothole-ridden street is not driving — it’s a cardio workout for your spine. We don’t need speed bumps; we have craters that could swallow scooters whole. Road signs should say “Drive Slow — Geological Survey in Progress.”

As for bridges, they're more dramatic than TV soaps. One moment you're cruising, next moment you're praying. Every creak is a reminder that faith, not engineering, holds us up.

The irony? The inauguration photo-ops are smoother than the roads themselves. Somewhere, a minister is cutting a ribbon on a yet-to-be-built flyover — while we're praying to God to let us cross a bridge alive.

But we Indians are resilient. We dodge, we swerve, and we laugh — because sometimes, that’s all we can do to stay sane.

Tail-piece: Chocolate

They say every piece of chocolate you eat shortens your life by two minutes. I’ve done the math. Seems I died in 1980.