Abu Abraham Biography 
Abu Abraham, known by the pen name Abu was an Indian cartoonist, journalist, and author from Mavelikara, Kerala. His full name is Attupurathu Mathew Abraham. He was a lifelong atheist and rationalist. He spent more than 4 decades for the world of art, where he worked with many leading dailies of India and abroad as an illustrator and cartoonist. A cartoonist who provoked readers to think, Abu died on 1 December 2002 aged 78. Abu’s cartoons are blessed with simple, no-fuss lines. Abu has also made one film. Abu has married twice - Sarojini from Tamil Nadu and a British woman Psyche. He was a lifelong atheist and rationalist.
Abu was born in Mavelikara as the son of A.M. Mathew and Kantamma in the year 1924. He started drawing cartoons at the age of 3. He graduated from University College Thiruvananthapuram in 1945. He has been a tennis champion during his college days. After graduation he moved to Mumbai where he started his career as a journalist. He contributed cartoons to Bombay Chronicle and The Bombay Sentinel during his early days. In 1951, he was invited by the legendary cartoonist K. Shankar Pillai to join his weekly - Shankar's Weekly in Delhi.
Abu moved to London in 1953. He assumed the pen name Abraham and published many cartoons for many publications. Once he returned to India he got married to Sarojini and the couple had two daughters, Aysha and Janaki. However the marriage ended in a divorce and he later married Psyche and Ayisha Abraham is their daughter. During Emergency period he disapproved Indira Gandhi’s principles and his cartoons remained unpublished during that time. He started a new strip cartoon, Salt and Pepper in 1981, with crow and elephant being the main characters. In 1988 he moved to Kerala where he continued living till his death in 2002.
Published: N/A
Updated: June 13, 2018
