A Gentle, Genial Man

Like most cartoonists, Irfan was not a great verbaliser. In fact, he was the quietest, gentlest and one of the most unobtrusive journalists on our staff. I hired Irfan at The Pioneer and was delighted when he agreed to join Outlook. My first encounter with him convinced me that here was an extraordinary talent which, perhaps, needed occasional nurturing and nourishment.

His presence at our morning conference, like everything else about him, was hardly noticed. Yet, whenever the occasion arose, he made critical contributions, but never pushing his argument. His responses were instinctive, not intellectual. Nevertheless, he understood in a flash the implication of a story and its visual possibilities. Irfan did not require any extensive briefing or detailed explanation.

Every Thursday, just before I left the office, he would bring in his "In a Line" cartoon for the Polscape pages. Invariably, I passed them immediately because they were near-perfect. On the few instances I had a small suggestion, he would accept the change happily. Frequently, he even improved upon his original effort.

We at Outlook deeply mourn his loss (and the gruesome manner in which the murder was perpetrated) since we have lost an extremely gifted and amiable member of our team. Indian cartooning, however, has suffered a much bigger loss. It will be hard to fill.

Best of Irfan Hussain: Covers

JUN 1, ’98 India, Pakistan, China trade charges
NOV 16, ’98 ABV and his men turn out total failures
JUL 16, ’97 IK watches his party in disarray
AUG 31, ’98 Vajpayee faces a ticking timebomb
MAY 14, ’97 Laloo is fodder to a crisis in the UF
OCT 6, ’97 India and the US start a new relationship
JAN 26, ’98 Opinion poll puts BJP ahead—just
MAR 9, ’98 It’s a hung House, and everyone’s an ally

Also See: In A Line, Irfan, We Miss You