Hyderabad: Eminent cartoonist 'Bujjai' passes away

Hyderabad: The very popular Devulapalli Subbaraya Sastri, best known to the Telugu people as 'Bujjai' and known as the 'Father of Indian comic books' for publishing his first children's book of cartoons, passed away on Friday.

Subbaraya Shastri introduced 'Dumbu' to the cartoon world. He was not only a cartoonist as a child storyteller but was also a genius at telling stories through his illustrations of animals in Panchatantra stories.

The mischievous character created by him the 'Dumbu' is very popular and entertains children and adults. Even today people are used to call naughty children at home as "Dumbu". Bujjai's style as a child storyteller is unique in making Telugu and Tamil readers to look forward to the next week for his stories.

His love for children led him to break new ground in children's literature. His amazing work on children's literature has received many awards.

The 30-year-old association with Bujjai paved the way to Bala Chelimi publication in Telugu for the first time. Panchatantra Children's Cartoon Stories have been published in Illustrated Weekly English and after 40 years Bala Chelimi took initiative to translate and publish it for the first time in Telugu.

Vedakumar Manikonda, Chairman of Bala Chelimi Child Development Magazine while expressing his condolences said, "Bujjai's demise is a great loss to the world of children's literature. Bala Chelimi will remember his association and cherish his memories forever. We extend our deepest condolences to his family."