Dr
Smitha Bhandare Kamat has carved a niche for herself as an educator,
writer and cartoonist. A lecturer for the last 18 years, teaching
Commerce and Management subjects at S S Dempo College of
Commerce and Economics, Panjim, she is currently pursuing an
MA
in Women and Gender Studies. A Commerce graduate who completed her
Masters
in Commerce, an MBA,
and more recently a PhD in Tourism, what sets Dr Smitha apart is her
ability to see wit and humour
in every situation.
She
says, “I always loved doodling and in 2009-10,
Herald’s former
editor Ashwin Tombat offered ‘Smile with Smitha’,
a corner for my cartoons. Vinayak Naik, Editor of Goa Today,
gave me ’Last
Laugh’,
and Rajeshree Nagarshekar, Editor of Evescape,
gave me ‘Evestoon’
to
exhibit my cartooning skills.
I also received support from Sanjay Dawlikar, former Editor, Dainik
Herald.”
She
further adds, “Political satire is a sturdy challenge that seduces
the cartoonists. It involves applying the intellect, wit and art. And
invariably,
I fall into
its
trap,
time and again.”
Dr
Smitha has now been recognised
at a national level with
her works receiving attention from three
reputed organisations.
“At the IIC Indian Institute of Cartoonists, Bangalore my work
covers the political scenario of pre-elections Bihar which is
scheduled to open on June 4, 2016. Kerala Cartoon Academy is having a
festival of caricatures between May 22 to 25, 2016 wherein
I have submitted caricatures of Barrack Obama, Narendra Modi,
Jawaharlal Nehru and Mother Teresa. One
of my artworks
was also employed as a
greeting
card by Women’s Studies Department, IGNOU
in
March 2016 and I
have
been asked to illustrate their course material for UG -WGS
Programme,” says Dr Smitha. She also loves to conduct cartoon
workshops for kids of Little Penguins, Lok Chetana School, Hamara
School and INTACHl.
When
questioned about the challenges and the creative freedom a female
cartoonist
meets with,
she explains, “I’m into political cartooning and caricatures,
which are
generally
not taken in the right spirit by politicians. The art of laughing at
oneself does not come easy. Nehru was the sole political leader who
loved and laughed at his cartoons;
we are yet to see the likes of him. Opportunities are limited in Goa,
but editors like Vinayak Naik and Rajeshree Nagarshekar need a
special mention for giving me a free hand to my art and talent. We
need more editors who do not curb the freedom and creativity of the
artists. Fortunately, social networking has come to the rescue where
artists can put up their work without any curbing,
albeit
at their own risk.”
Dr
Smitha is married to Ajit Guiry Kamat and is blessed with a son,
Atharva,
and daughter,
Kamashi,. Besides
cartooning, she is also fond of writing and art. “I have been
writing for more than two decades for reputed dailies and magazines;
I
love writing
short stories, middles and features covering social and gender
issues. I have authored two Konkani books related to short stories
and a
book compiling my
English poems that
were published
in various dailies. In art, I had solo art exhibitions, first on
charcoal painting on ‘The Churches of Goa’ at Cristo Art
Gallery, followed by exhibitions at Kala Academy and Big Foot,
Loutolim,” she
says, attributing her
success to her parents
–
late Govindas and Meera Bhandare.
Speaking
about her future projects, Dr Smitha is optimistic about her Facebook
page ‘A moment in time-doodles’. “My personal profile page
carries more of my cartoons than any other form of art. I’m
illustrating books for a couple of my friends,
ranging from commerce to spirituality, children to study materials
etc. I believe that
we should ‘Take
one laugh at a time’.
