Mickey Mouse comics flung by English soldiers at children, who ran alongside their train as it approached the Mumbai’s Victoria Terminus (VT) station from the nearby dock, provided seven-year-old Aabid Surti the first glimpse of the world of illustration and cartooning.
Living in a chawl in 1943, where space and food was a constraint, Aabid found refuge in the comics thrown by British soldiers. “As children, we ran along the train in hope that the soldiers would throw dollars at us, but instead they threw comics, chocolates and other stuff which we gleefully grabbed,” Aabid said, who is in Dehradun for the ongoing National Book Trust book fair.
But the comic books caught his fancy and he copied Mickey Mouse a number of times and soon mastered the art of cartoon making.
Living a life of penury, Aabid knew he had to do something extra to get out of the ghetto. The opportunity came when, as part of Scouts, he was asked to earn a day’s living himself so that he could buy food.
“Those days, Scouts had to earn a day’s living on ‘Khari Kamai Din’. The boys would sell flowers, polish shoes and do other stuff. As the office of the Times of India was nearby, I managed to walk in and submit a pocket-size cartoon to the editor. Though the money was too less, it managed to increase my self confidence several notch,” he recalled.
Soon, one thing led to another and cartooning became a source of income for him. He then launched popular comic characters such as Bahadur and Dabooji.
But that’s not all. In order to heal a broken heart, Aabid soon forayed into writing. “I had to vent my grief somewhere and since I was shy and introvert, writing was the best medium. I found myself writing every day. Soon, I had a pile of papers before me, all strewn with my innermost feelings. A kabadi wala was eyeing these papers and soon asked me give them away. But he was an inquisitive chap and went through what I wrote. He found it interesting enough to approach Swati Publishers and they launched me,” Aabid maintains. As of now, there are around 80 titles in Hindi that have been penned by Aabid and are in the market.
But that’s not all. There is also a water conservationist in him who often comes to the fore when he sees water being wasted. Armed with plumbing tools, he repairs broken pipes and leaking tapes free of cost. “In the coming years, we may face water shortage in case we do not save water now,” Aabid added. He also runs a one-man NGO that goes with the slogan, ‘Save every drop or drop dead’.
Living in a chawl in 1943, where space and food was a constraint, Aabid found refuge in the comics thrown by British soldiers. “As children, we ran along the train in hope that the soldiers would throw dollars at us, but instead they threw comics, chocolates and other stuff which we gleefully grabbed,” Aabid said, who is in Dehradun for the ongoing National Book Trust book fair.
But the comic books caught his fancy and he copied Mickey Mouse a number of times and soon mastered the art of cartoon making.
Living a life of penury, Aabid knew he had to do something extra to get out of the ghetto. The opportunity came when, as part of Scouts, he was asked to earn a day’s living himself so that he could buy food.
“Those days, Scouts had to earn a day’s living on ‘Khari Kamai Din’. The boys would sell flowers, polish shoes and do other stuff. As the office of the Times of India was nearby, I managed to walk in and submit a pocket-size cartoon to the editor. Though the money was too less, it managed to increase my self confidence several notch,” he recalled.
Soon, one thing led to another and cartooning became a source of income for him. He then launched popular comic characters such as Bahadur and Dabooji.
But that’s not all. In order to heal a broken heart, Aabid soon forayed into writing. “I had to vent my grief somewhere and since I was shy and introvert, writing was the best medium. I found myself writing every day. Soon, I had a pile of papers before me, all strewn with my innermost feelings. A kabadi wala was eyeing these papers and soon asked me give them away. But he was an inquisitive chap and went through what I wrote. He found it interesting enough to approach Swati Publishers and they launched me,” Aabid maintains. As of now, there are around 80 titles in Hindi that have been penned by Aabid and are in the market.
But that’s not all. There is also a water conservationist in him who often comes to the fore when he sees water being wasted. Armed with plumbing tools, he repairs broken pipes and leaking tapes free of cost. “In the coming years, we may face water shortage in case we do not save water now,” Aabid added. He also runs a one-man NGO that goes with the slogan, ‘Save every drop or drop dead’.
