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| Sunday, 9 June 2002 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Comic cartoonist who immortalised the common man
For 36 years Camillus Perera has been one of the most lovable institutions in Sinhala journalism. There is practically no newspaper he has not graced with his cartoons apart from a whole crop of small publications some of which he now controls. These cartoons have offered a wryly witty commentary on the foibles and absurdities of not only politicians (who are any way easy to caricature) but also ordinary people both in the individual as well as the mass. In fact this is precisely Camillus' special strength. The man who likes to call himself a comic cartoonist takes a compassionate but trenchant look at Sri Lanka's middle and lower middle classes who have over time evolved almost into a special sub-class. Taken for granted by the politicians at election time and forgotten thereafter, described as the petit bourgeoisie or the lumpen proletariat by the Marxist ideologues and exploited by the mudalalis, this class has supplied the grist to Camillus' mill. His archetypal cartoon figure is perhaps Gajaman whose 30th birthday he celebrates with this exhibition.
Camillus began as a newspaper cartoonist at Lake House and there has been no newspaper editor worth his salt who has not made use of his talent. These include the late Wimalsiri Perera, Denzil Peiris and Piyasena Nissanka, D.F. Kariyakarawana, S. Subasinghe, Sumana Saparamadu, B. Samarasinghe, David Karunaratne of 'Davasa', Mervyn de Silva and Gunadasa Liyange of Times Group and Chintana Jayasena of 'Ada'. Perhaps it was with his creation Don Sethan that Camillus hit the big time Sethan's brood was a large one including the daughter's boy friend. Some of his other creations are Siribiris, Sellansena, Tikka, Dekkothpathmawathie and of cause Gajaman. Camillus' forte has been to evoke humor at all levels and from any area of life. His Sellansena for example appeared in the sports page. Pathmawathie is a stylish young lady and Siribiris and Gajaman exemplify the hopes, fears and aspirations of the man on the street. Perhaps with Camillus it is a question of art imitating life for the cartoonist himself is a stocky jolly figure who has a ready smile. Unfortunately most of his creations cannot be rendered into English because they derive from the idiom and the in-jokes of the urban middle class. But they are all good fun and what is more wholesome fun at that. Camillus is not only a good cartoonist but also a shrewd social observer and long may he thrive to keep the populace chortling. Ajith Samaranayake. |
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Camillus is not a trained artist and perhaps Sri Lanka's readership has
to be thankful for that. He recalls that at one time it had been suggested
that he study at the Government College of Arts (as it was then) but his
teachers had been against it. Instead while working among the dusty files
of Government Kachcheries (among other places in Puttalam) he had studied
newspaper cartoons and confesses to have been influenced by Collette and
Low.
