Pran Kumar Sharma, the noted Indian cartoonist, was the creator of famous cartoon character Chacha Chaudhary. More popular as Pran, he had also created other popular characters like Channie Chachi, Raman, Billoo, Pinki and Shrimatiji. For his contributions in popularizing comics he was included in People of the Year 1995 by Limca Book of Records.
Early Life of Pran Kumar Sharma
Pran Kumar Sharma was born on 15th August 1938 in Kasur near Lahore, presently in Pakistan. He graduated from Gwalior and earned a Masters of Arts degree in Political Science from evening Camp College in Delhi which is affiliated to Punjab University. Subsequently, while he was in Delhi, he did a five year course in Fine Arts from Sir J. J. School of Art, Mumbai, through distance as a private student.
Career of Pran Kumar Sharma
Pran Kumar Sharma started his career as a cartoonist in the year 1960 and began working for the Delhi-based newspaper Milap with comic strip Daabu. Besides Daabu, during that period, the scenario of Indian comics was mostly based on reprints of The Phantom and Superman. In the year 1969 Pran Kumar Sharma introduced the sketch of Chacha Chaudhary for the Hindi magazine Lotpot which garnered him immense popularity. Along with this, he also created characters like Channi Chachi, Raman, Billoo, Pinki, Shrimatiji and others. Indian magazines have regularly published these sketches. In the year 1983, Pran Kumar Sharma`s comics Raman - Ham Ek Hain was released by the then Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi. The comics helped in the promotion of national integration. Pran had also given lessons in cartooning at the Pran`s Media Institute which is run by his son Nikhil.
Achievements of Pran Kumar Sharma
In the year 2001 Pran Kumar Sharma was honoured by the Indian Institute of Cartoonists with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In The World Encyclopaedia of Comics, he had been given the title of Walt Disney of India. International Museum of Cartoon Art, USA, has preserved the Chacha Chaudhary strips permanently.
Death of Pran Kumar Sharma
Pran Kumar Sharma died on 6th August 2014 after suffering from cancer since a few years.
