This is Artist Shankarankutty, Shaku to all malayalam book lovers as to his friends. Often, an artist can be the owner of enormously long fingers with dexterity in his art. But, Shaku surpasses that phenomenon with the added advantage of having been scorchingly beautiful in his hey days with his long flowing hair and amorously piercing eyes. A Gandharvan chosing to amble on without complaints through the puddles of intoxication. That attitude is self-evident in the simple, frugal but bold lines on hundreds of book covers malayalee happen to bump against every day. With an unimaginable record of 20000 book cover illustrations of which 15000 for Sahitya Pravarthaka Sahakarana Samgham (SPCS) alone, the artist probably never wanted to be known as a cartoonist, a passion chased to fruition years later by his son RishiShankar. Probably, the only cartoon area Shaku dabbled in was the weekly caricatures under Man of the Week in the sunday edition of the old Keraladwani.
Kerala Cartoon Academy feel proud to celebrate this wonderful artist.
