Eenadu Paper Cartoon

Back in 1974 I dug through old clippings and family papers and found a small, vivid piece of history: the cartoons in 'Eenadu' showed up right from the newspaper's launch. The paper first hit the stands on 10 August 1974, and the early issues already included illustrated commentary and single-panel cartoons that helped shape readers' daily experience. Those cartoons were immediate, punchy, and often leaned into local politics and social life, which made them feel like part of the paper's identity from day one.

I still love how those early drawings balanced humor and bite. Over the years the cartoon pages evolved into a regular fixture — multi-panel gags, editorial cartoons, and recurring characters — but their origin traces back to that inaugural period. Finding those originals felt like discovering a time capsule; they show how much the paper cared about connecting with readers visually as well as through reporting, and that always makes me smile.

I get a little giddy talking about classic Telugu strips, and the one that pops up for me from 'Eenadu' is 'Budugu'.

Growing up, 'Budugu' felt like the neighborhood kid who’d say exactly what everyone was thinking but was too honest to filter. The character was created by Mullapudi Venkataramana and often paired with Bapu’s distinctive art in various publications, and over time readers associated that cheeky kid persona with newspaper cartoons too. In 'Eenadu' the strip leaned into everyday family and social quirks—Budugu’s observations hit that sweet spot between innocence and savage truth, which is why it stuck with me.

Even now, when I stumble across a reprint or a reference online, I smile. The strip’s tone is timeless: playful, satirical, and oddly comforting, like catching up with an old friend who still knows how to roast you gently.

Hunting down back issues can feel like treasure-hunting, and honestly I get a little giddy every time I score a clean scan of an old 'Eenadu' cartoon. If you're looking for archived cartoon editions, start with the newspaper itself — 'Eenadu' runs an e-paper and archive on its site and sometimes on a dedicated ePaper subdomain. Their archive usually lets you pick dates and flip through the pages, which is perfect if you know the month and year.

If the e-paper doesn't have what you need, I often bounce between a few other spots: the Internet Archive/Wayback Machine for snapshots of older pages, university or state libraries that keep microfilm or bound volumes, and local collector groups on Facebook and Telegram where people trade scanned clippings. When I’ve gone deeper, contacting 'Eenadu'’s archive or subscriptions team has paid off — they sometimes provide scans or point to physical copies stored in regional offices. Happy hunting; tracking down a favorite strip from the 90s still gives me a weird, cozy thrill.

Lately I’ve been nerding out over how the cartoon strip in that paper shifted its look, and I can’t help but analyze it like I would a page from one of my sketchbooks.

At first glance the change feels like a push toward simplification: cleaner lines, flatter colors, and facial expressions that read well even on a tiny phone screen. From where I sit, that’s usually driven by the move to digital-first publishing — newspapers need art that scales, animates, and thumbnails nicely in social feeds. There’s also the practical side: new art directors tend to favor a modern palette and vector-based work because it’s faster to reproduce, cheaper to print, and easier to hand off for web GIFs or short animations.

Beyond tech, there’s the audience angle. Editors lean into younger readers and commuters who scroll fast; bold silhouettes and punchier composition catch the eye. Sometimes the original artist steps back or a syndicate asks for a refresh, which changes the voice subtly. For me, the new style loses a little of the ragged charm but gains clarity and energy — different mood, not necessarily worse. I’m curious to see how long it sticks and whether fan feedback nudges it back toward the old warmth, but for now it’s an interesting evolution that keeps me paying attention.

I get a little giddy on Sunday mornings when I open the paper and see that full-page cartoon — it feels like a mini comic ritual. From what I've followed over the years, Eenadu usually runs its Sunday cartoon as a piece by the newspaper's own resident cartoonist or editorial cartoon team. They tend to credit the artist right on the strip, either with a small byline or a signature in the corner, so if you squint at the bottom you can usually read the name of the person who drew that week's panel.

What I enjoy is that the style can shift subtly depending on whether it's the in-house cartoonist or a guest contributor; some Sundays feel more satirical and bold, others softer and observational. Historically, Telugu newspapers have nurtured notable illustrators and cartoonists who influenced that weekend vibe, but for the current creator it's easiest to glance at the credit on the strip itself — the paper makes the artist visible, and that little signature connects you to the person behind the joke. I always feel thankful for that tiny human touch in daily news, it brightens my coffee and my mood.