Mohan’s Art Work
There was pulp-fiction (most popularly known as “painkiLi kathhakaL” in Malayalam) and the “Ma” weeklys which were reigning over the entertainment space of Malayali community before the television sets and the soap serials took them over. The “Ma” weeklys (Malayala Manorama, Mangalam, Manorajyam etc) with their never-ending stories which are equivalent to the television soaps of these days, were the main source of entertainment for the womenfolk as they were confined to the four walls of their household. The men too have enjoyed these weeklys, mainly for the sleazy gossip stories or for the graphical art works of women with the novellas.
But for men, the most favorite column in these weeklys were/are the “Ask the Doctor” column. This column would mostly have letters with questions about sexual problems. Each letter is a porn story in itself which could feed your fetish well. Rumor has it that many of these letters are written by the publishing house people themselves to increase circulation.
So the “Ma” weeklys are satisfying for both genders – Soaps for women and soft porn for men. But there is another thing that is so attractive about the “Ma” weeklys. It is the art work that comes in between the paragraphs of a novel. Many of these artists who work for these weeklys are so talented, but they go mostly unnoticed because of the nature of their work. They do not draw ordinary people. They draw only so perfectly beautiful people; women, to be specific.
I recently saw some of such art works by Mr. Mohan who works for Malayala Manorama. He is an amazingly talented artist. I don’t have more details of him and don’t know if he is pursuing an artistic career outside his regular job at Malayala Manorama, but he is a very good artist.
PS: The copyright of the images given below remains with Malayala Manorama. I should leave proper credits for them, even though they make false claims such as “Manorama Podcast is the first podcast in Malayalam” etc and would never correct it (Deshabhimani is far better in this case, I believe. At least they apologized for their recent goof-up). 
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
July 10th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Amazing! More like the precision and details of Norman Rockwell. The soft strokes are flawless. Real genius. Sad that ability wont be recognized now if not so called ‘modern’.
July 11th, 2009 at 6:02 am
Awesome art work! Look at their hairstyles, wardrobe n the colours n patterns he has done. Simply beautiful. Faces seem to be similar, nonetheless beautiful, theymight be sisters as per the story:)?! I love these dresses! Wow so colourful n artistic! Thanks for sharing Jo! Long live Mohan!
July 11th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
all of them have such pretty eyes….
quite amused at the fact how the ‘Ma’ weeklys entertains both genders…
July 13th, 2009 at 1:37 am
These are beautiful….
July 13th, 2009 at 3:26 am
How come all the faces are drawn like Sridevi ?
July 13th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
When it comes to reading, I never compare sidney sheldon or Josy/Joicy. Both literature built a habit to read. Mohan’s art was one of the main attractive thing in manorama weekly.
I was inspired- rather I would say fascinated his style of art. The color mixing, combos, strokes; anatomy, light & shadow were amazing. He used to paint without sketching many places. and he used transparent inks which is tough and hard to use.
The face/anatomy were mostly similar on almost drawings coz to sustain the readership i think!
He, then moved to mangalam(?) I think. Is he with manorama again?
Thanks jo.
July 13th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
It’s true. All faces look similar, perhaps for the reasons which Saljo mentioned here.
July 14th, 2009 at 9:36 am
For the similarity: Though it is stereotyping, there are those that fall under that ‘malayalee’ look. It might seem a very 90-ish thought, but still prevalent. It might have affected Mr. Mohan, just like Yesudas’s voice seems to affect Malayalee men.
Great pictures. It is quite sad, that real talent is blinded by commerciality.
July 22nd, 2009 at 1:43 pm
The second last picture is such a beauty, i wonder if such beauty exists in reality..J/K. SURREAL !!! love the hairdo simple yet pretty
The churidhar is so elegant on the Indian woman !
August 22nd, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Dear Friend,
I know Mr.K.S.Mohan personally.He is from Manimala of Kottayam District of Kerala.My mother was a normal housewife who reads the”ma” weekly.I used to think that the person who draws those pictures looks like those handsome guys in their artworks.I had a hard desire in my mind to meet this person anyhow.I grew up and went Cochin and I got a job in Mr.Mohan’s elder brother’s firm.From there I could meet him and ask my common doubts about the pictures.He looks nice and very good in mind.He keeps a good way of living and very polite in dealings.Now I’m abroad and no connection with him.But still I proud to say that I know him personally.
December 3rd, 2009 at 1:04 pm
I like your picture
December 27th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Your art work is fantastic and I want to see the paintings creation when you draw the paintings
August 21st, 2010 at 11:21 am
I like manorama novels