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'''S. Gopalan''', pen-name '''Gopulu''' (18 June 1924 – 29 April 2015), was a Tamil illustrator and cartoonist, known for his work for the Tamil humour magazine ''[[Ananda Vikatan]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gopulu|url=http://www.cartoonistsindia.com/htm/pr_gopulu.htm|publisher=Indian Institute of Cartoonists}}</ref>

Born in Tanjore in 1924, Gopulu spent his early years in the city. He studied at the Kumbakonam School of Art. In 1941, he came to [[Chennai]] looking for a job in Ananda Vikatan. There, he met cartoonist [[Mali (cartoonist)|'Mali']], who commissioned a number of paintings for the magazine's Deepavali special. It was not till December 1944, however, that Mali offered Gopulu a job at the magazine. (Mali was also the one who gave Gopulu his pen-name). In the course of the next twenty or so years, till 1968, Gopulu did political cartoons, cover designs and illustrated columns for the magazine.<ref name=vibrant>{{cite news|last=Krishnamachari|first=Suganthy|title=Vibrant strokes of art|url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2005/05/20/stories/2005052000110300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050525215327/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2005/05/20/stories/2005052000110300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 25, 2005|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=May 20, 2005}}</ref>

As an illustrator, Gopulu worked on popular serials such as ''[[Thillana Mohanambal]]'' and ''Washingtonil Thirumanam''. He is known for his work with the writer [[Devan (writer)|Devan]] for whom he illustrated the serial [[Thuppariyum Sambu]] in comics form. Devan's bumbling detective is remembered in the form in which Gopulu first drew him. Gopulu also traveled with the writer [[Saavi]] in 1953-54, to Ajanta, Ellora, Delhi, Jaipur, Calcutta for a travel series.<ref>{{cite news|last=Parthasarthy|first=Anusha|title=Sketches from the past|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/article1125697.ece| newspaper=The Hindu| date=Jan 26, 2011}}</ref>

In 1972, Gopulu started his own ad agency, Ad Wave Advertising. He designed the logo of the Tamil magazine ''[[Kungumam (magazine)|Kungumam]]'', and that of [[Sun TV (India)|Sun TV]] too. Later, he quit advertising and began to work as a freelance illustrator for magazines such as ''Kalki'', ''Amudhasurabhi'', ''Vikatan'' and ''Kungumam''.<ref name=vibrant />

Gopulu was given the ‘Kalaimamani' award by the Government of Tamil Nadu on 26 November 1991. He is a recipient of the Murasoli Award and the M. A. Chidambaram Chettiar Award. In 2001 he was honoured with the lifetime achievement award as part of the inaugural function of the Indian Institute of Cartoonists in Bangalore.

==Bibliography==
Washingtonil Thirumanam, written by Saavi, illustrated by Gopulu (Narmadha Pathipagam, 1999).

Gopulu's cartoons have been published in books by Vikatan Prasuram.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.cartoonistsindia.com/htm/pr_gopulu.htm Profile of Gopulu at Indian Institute of Cartoonists]
*[http://www.indian-heritage.org/painting/illustrators/gopulu.html Gallery of illustrations by Gopulu]
*[http://anikartick.blogspot.in/2010/09/artist-gopulu-great-cartoonistillustrat.html Gopulu: A fan's tribute]
*[http://tamilcomicsulagam.blogspot.in/search/label/Artist%20Gopulu Illustrations by Gopulu (Page in Tamil)]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gopulu}}
[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:2015 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian cartoonists]]
[[Category:Indian comics artists]]
[[Category:Indian illustrators]]

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Gopulu - Revision history

>GreenC bot at 20:14, 21 April 2021