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{{Short description|Indian cartoonist and author}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox comics creator
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| birth_name = Attupurathu Mathew Abraham
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1924|6|11|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Mavelikara]], [[Travancore]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2002|12|1|1924|6|11|df=yes}}
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| alias = Abu
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}}
'''Attupurathu Mathew Abraham''' (11 June 1924 – 1 December 2002), pen name ''Abu'', was an Indian [[cartoonist]], journalist, and author. In a career spanning 40 years, Abu Abraham worked for various national and international newspapers including ''[[The Bombay Chronicle]]'', ''[[Shankar's Weekly]]'', ''[[Blitz (newspaper)|Blitz]]'', ''Tribune'', ''[[The Observer]]'' (1956–1966), ''[[The Guardian]]'' (1966–1969), and ''[[The Indian Express]]'' (1969–1981).

He was a lifelong [[atheist]] and [[rationalist]].<ref>"His strongest theme, as India sank faster into factional and religious politics, had remained adherence to the original vision of Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru for a wholly secular state: Abu was a rationalist and atheist." Michael McNay, 'Obituary: Abu Abraham', ''The Guardian'', 7 December 2002, Pg. 26.</ref>

==Early years==

Born in [[Mavelikara]], Kerala<ref name="Bryant">Mark Bryant, ''Fleet Street's Star of India'', History Today, '''57'''(6) pp. 58–59 (June 2007)</ref> as the son of A.M. Mathew and Kantamma, Abu started drawing cartoons at the age of 3. After studying French, Mathematics, and English at [[University College, Thiruvananthapuram]] (Trivandrum) and being the tennis champion, he graduated in 1945.<ref name="Bryant"/>

==Work in London==
In 1953, he met Fred Joss of the London ''[[The Star (1888)|Star]]'', who encouraged him to move to London.<ref name="Bryant"/> At 32, Abu arrived in London in the summer of 1953 and immediately sold cartoons to [[Punch (magazine)|''Punch'' magazine]] and the ''[[Daily Sketch]]'' and started to contribute material to ''Everybodys' London Opinion'' and ''Eastern World'' using the pen name 'Abraham'.<ref name="Bryant"/> In 1956, after two cartoons were published in ''[[Tribune (magazine)|Tribune]]'', he was sent a personal letter by [[David Astor]], the editor of ''[[The Observer]]'', the world's oldest Sunday newspaper, offering him a permanent job as its first ever political cartoonist. Astor asked Abu to change his pen name as 'Abraham' would imply a false slant on his cartoons, and so he settled on 'Abu', a schoolboy nickname of his.<ref name="Bryant"/>

He was described in ''[[The Guardian]]'' as "the conscience of the Left and the pea under the princess's mattress".<ref name="Bryant"/> He also produced reportage drawings from around the world. In 1962 in [[Cuba]] he drew [[Che Guevara]] and spent three hours in a nightclub with [[Fidel Castro]].<ref name="Bryant" />

==Return to India==
He returned to [[India]] with his first wife (Sarojini, from [[Tamil Nadu]], who he later divorced) and two daughters, Ayisha and Janaki, in 1969 to work as the political cartoonist on the ''Indian Express'' until 1981. In 1970 he was given a special award by the [[British Film Institute]] for a short film based on [[Noah's Ark]] called ''No Arks''.<ref name="Bryant" /> From 1972 until 1978, he was nominated a member of the [[Rajya Sabha]], the upper house of the Indian Parliament.<ref name="Bryant" />

In 1975 [[Indian Emergency (1975 - 77)|Indian Emergency]] was declared and the freedom of the press was suspended, and Abu fell out of favour with [[Indira Gandhi]]. The direct result of this was the publication of the book ''Games of the Emergency'' in 1977, which contained the political articles and cartoons that he could not print during the Emergency. As well as illustrating other books, other collections of his cartoons were ''Abu on Bangladesh'' (1972), ''Private View'' (1974), and ''Arrivals and Departures'' (1983). He also edited the ''Penguin Book of Indian Cartoons'' (1988).<ref name="Bryant" />

From 1981, Abu worked as a freelancer, syndicating his work to several newspapers and commencing a new strip cartoon, ''Salt and Pepper''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Qureishi|first=Humra|title=Cartoonist who provokes you to think|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20031102/spectrum/main4.htm|newspaper=The Sunday Tribune|date=2 November 2003}}</ref> The crow and the elephant in this philosophical strip begin to take over from the political cartoons, according to his daughter Ayisha Abraham. In 1988 Abu moved back to Kerala.<ref name="Bryant" /> He died on 1 December 2002 and was survived by his British-born wife Psyche. His death was marked by a two-minute silence in the Rajya Sabha and he was cremated with full state honours.<ref name="Bryant" />

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au%3AAbu+Abraham%2C&dblist=638&fq=ap%3A%22abu+abraham%22&qt=facet_ap%3A Abu Abraham bibliography at WorldCat]
*[https://www.theguardian.com/video/page/0,,2080893,00.html No Arks, animation film written by Abu Abraham]
*[http://www.cartoons.ac.uk/search/cartoon_item/abu?artist=Abu%20Abraham Abu Abraham's cartoons at the British Cartoon Archive]{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051120190033/http://www.flonnet.com/fl1926/stories/20030103003110100.htm Frontline Archives]
*[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20031102/spectrum/main4.htm Report from Spectrum, The Tribune] dated 2 November 2003.
*[http://www.rediff.com/news/oct/31abu.htm Rediff.com article]
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20170926002212/http://www.cartoonistsindia.com/htm/homage.htm Homage from Indian Institute of Cartoonists]}}

{{Cartoonists from Kerala}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abraham, Abu}}
[[Category:Indian atheists]]
[[Category:Indian editorial cartoonists]]
[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:Writers from Kerala]]
[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:University College Thiruvananthapuram alumni]]
[[Category:People from Alappuzha district]]
[[Category:Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha]]

Abu Abraham - Revision history

Folin at 03:49, 5 May 2025