'Bal Thackeray and Raj discussed cartoons, not politics'

Mumbai, Nov 24 (PTI) Other than the uncle-nephew
relationship, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and Maharashtra
Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray share two qualities --
both are good cartoonists and have publicly expressed their
admiration for Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

A day after the uncle-nephew meeting, their first in
over two years, Shiv Sena and MNS leaders are emphasising that
there were no political undertones to the meeting, held at Bal
Thackeray's residence in suburban Bandra.

"What is in your mind did not take place at the
meeting. If we had to have secret parleys, we would have met
at a secret place," Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray,
also present at the meeting, said.

The meeting also brought to fore the "creative
leanings" of the Thackeray family. Uddhav, Bal Thackeray's
son, is known to be an avid photographer. Uddhav's brother,
late Binda, made films. His other brother Jaidev wrote a
column in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana'. Smita Thackeray, who was
married to Jaidev, is a filmmaker.

Raj Thackeray has often said that he picked up
cartooning from his illustrious uncle. "I stayed at home and
learnt from Saheb. When you have the best cartoonist in the
land at home, why do you need to go elsewhere to learn?" he
had said.

So, when the two met yesterday, it was because the
"Saheb wanted some of his old books," still in Raj's
possession, back and Raj offered to carry them to him instead
of sending them over.

A self-taught artist, Thackeray honed his drawing and
sketching skills under influence of Walt Disney and Sir David
Low who have deeply influenced his craftsmanship.

It was a book by Sir David, which Raj took to the
Thackeray residence yesterday.

On his uncle's style, Raj had said that he spent
"hours watching him and learnt from him his sense of
discipline. He never just sat down and drew a cartoon. He
spent hours labouring over his work, on getting it perfect."

"I knew that he had finally accepted me as a
cartoonist when, once in a while, he began to ask me to pencil
him an idea or ink in an idea that he had sketched. It showed
his confidence in me. For me, that was the final achievement.
The biggest trophy," Raj had said commenting on Bal Thackeray.

Of course, not all of Raj's cartoons were for public
display, like the one he drew when everyone was talking about
fake encounters, showing Gopinath Munde, the home minister, at
the height of his "conflict" with the chief minister, Manohar
Joshi, chasing Joshi with a gun.

Raj, who once said politics and cartooning inspired
him and he could have never given up one for the other, has
been busy with the politician's role since he quit Sena in
2005 following differences with Uddhav and formed Maharashtra
Navnirman Sena (MNS) the next year.