[IM-BOOT] Manoj, tell our readers a little bit about, where you live and what is your main profession?

[Manoj] Well, I live in Bangalore, India. I initially trained as an architect, but after a few years working for local firms, found I was happier actually creating art--I'd always been interested in illustration, comic strips and cartooning, and had illustrated a few books and had some regular cartoon features in local magazines. So then I went fulltime into graphic design.

[IM-BOOT] What do you think are the specific strengths of illustration/cartooning in your eyes?

[Manoj] I suppose first and foremost one has to have a very strong visual sense, an ability to imagine forms clearly, and to be able to manipulate images in the mind. A certain creative/ intuitive sense--an ability to tap into the universal wellspring of ideas. A desire to communicate one's visions to others. Good drawing skills. An capacity to strongly enjoy--one might even say a compulsion about-- the whole process. If one is a cartoonist, then obviously a good sense of humor is essential, along perhaps with a certain dissatisfaction or sensitivity to the ills of the world, or an ironic way of looking at things.

[IM-BOOT] Can you give us an example, which might be typical HOW ("process of") you develop your ideas for cartooning / illustration? (e.g. on your desk, while travelling I carry a scetch book with me, ...)

[Manoj] The process of getting ideas is pretty much a constant thing for most people in a creative line of business--ideas can happen at any time-- so carrying a sketch/note book is a very useful practice. An idea may strike me on a walk, while travelling, while taking a shower--the subconscious seems to be a very busy place indeed! But if I need to more formally generate visual ideas, say in a response to a brief, I've found it works best for me to get as comfortable as possible, with a drawing pad and pencil in hand, letting my mind switch between focused and unfocused thought--that is, between evaluatory thinking and more diffused, dreamlike, impressionistic mode--, making lots of sketches, trying out various combinations of ideas. Once I have hit upon something that has potential, I repair to my drawing board to refine it. Then (depending on the approach I decide to take) I may scan the drawing or cartoon into the computer and work on it further.

[IM-BOOT] Do you have an example of one of your cartoons, which you can share with my readers?

[Manoj] Recently I was thinking about how certain inventions might have come about. We almost never get to know about the original problems whose solution lead to the technological advances we live with in our daily lives. I thought that some of these inventions might have had quite amusing and unexpected first causes...for example, what if Alexander Graham Bell started getting pestered with calls he didn't want?

[IM-BOOT] Manoj, Do you think there's something special with Indian humor?

[Manoj] Well, India is such a diverse mix of people and cultures that it's difficult to say that there is one definite type of humor! Hmm...on the whole I would say that maybe we tend towards an enjoyment of earthy and physical humor, if anything, slightly more than wordplay. And be careful if you poke fun at yourself in a self-deprecatory manner to an Indian--he may just take you at your word :-)

[IM-BOOT] Do you think there's something special in the way you use colors, symbols, shapes or metaphers in your cultural context?

[Manoj] There's a lot of graphical imagery that have evolved out of Indian art over the years, yes. Colorwise, traditional Indian art tends towards earth shades--reds, yellows, greens and browns. And there are symbols that are typically Indian, like the paisley, that are fairly ubiquitious in design forms. Having said that, just like everywhere else in the world, homogenization of culture has its effect on design here, so we do adopt and adapt global trends. There are a lot of interesting experiments being done to fuse elements of the traditional/local with the global, for example in music, architecture and fashion.

[IM-BOOT]Thank you very much for the interview, Manoj!