KC Sivasankar, the legendary illustrator whose drawings in children’s magazine 'Chandamama' were published in 12 languages and inspired generations together, has died at the age of 97.
Sivasankar, who was born in Erode district Tamil Nadu, was unwell for some time and passed away due to age-related illness at his residence in Chennai on Tuesday afternoon. He is survived by his wife Shanmukavalli, a son and daughter.
Sivasankar worked with Chandamama also known as Ambulimama for five decades and his illustrations were much loved by children.
Tributes poured in for Sivasankar, who joined the magazine that was published in 12 Indian languages, including Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi, at one point, with people who grew up reading the magazine sharing their memories and hailing him as a legend.
They also recalled the iconic Vikram and Betal characters in Chandamama created by Sivasankar, saying a “piece of my childhood” has gone. Sivasankar graduated from the Government College of Fine Arts in Chennai and joined a Tamil magazine Kalaimagal before moving to Chandamama.
“Tributes to KC Shankeran who passed away yesterday. The Artist and Editor “Chandamama” the generation of 60 to 1990s grew up reading the hugely popular multilingual moral science magazine in our School... Times are moving,” IPS officer Bhaskar Rao wrote on his verified Twitter page.