From Kochi to Frankfurt The Borderless Autobiography

In the vast literary grounds of rich Kerala, a little boy by the name of C J Yesudasan takes birth as a curious spectator to the glorious years of Malayalam art and artists. In a few years, this seemingly ordinary child with an innate passion for drawing becomes one of the greatest artists to take center stage and uplift the Art of Cartooning to an unrivaled peak.

- Ambika Chandra Kumar

As we salute the progressive vibrations of his popular, political cartoons, we are bound to revisit his unique path: Yesudasan's inquisitive childhood, his youth brushed in learnings, experimentations, and explorations and his rise to artistic excellence in the years to follow. For, the innumerable contributions of Shri Yesudasan to our society and cultural outlook, the role of his autobiography in our lives is equally influential. An opportunity to open the pages of a life, well lived indeed opens us a world full of possibilities for us.

The journey of the book was challenging because Yesudasan passed away without finishing the last few lines of his life. Or perhaps, he wanted his closest friends and family to complete it for him.

An autobiography, as defined by the renowned Indian cartoonist, Shri Yesudasan, is an account of one’s life, a life designed by oneself. He was one of those very few fortunate people who could end up following the profession he was always passionate about. His parents wanted him to be a priest; he ended up being the ‘high priest’ of cartooning.

Yesudasan, through his inspirational autobiography ‘Oru Vattom Koodiyen Ormakal Meyunna’ is exploring his journey as a cartoonist, spanning six decades which started in the primary classes of his school, making frequent visits outside the class and drawing on the sand whenever the teacher was not there.

Yesudasan’s first cartoon appeared in 1955, in a magazine called ‘Asoka’ published from Kottayam. He entered the world of political cartoons in 1960, drawing for