'Sakalajana', featuring Mara Putraya in the final panel, in the right corner.
Winnie Hettigoda is a Sri Lankan editorial cartoonist and painter. As a comic artist, he is notable for 'Vatamesa'/'Bus Stop' (1988- ) and 'Sakalajana' (1994-2006). A recurring character in his comics and cartoons is the bearded young rebel Mara Putraya. Hettigoda's work frequently criticized the Sri Lankan government, which regularly led to threats and intimidation against the cartoonist.
Early life
Winnie Hettigoda was born in 1953 in Galle, the capital city of the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. His father was a painter and his mother a housewife. In 1986, he first traveled to India and studied fine art at Baroda University, where he graduated with a master's degree two years later. During his stay in India, he visited Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar and New Delhi. Among his main artistic influences are the imaginative masks made in Sri Lankan traditional culture and the Indian cartoonist R.K. Laxman.
Cartooning career
Hettigoda's cartooning career took off in 1981 at the Upali Newspapers Company and its newspaper Divaina. Later, his work also ran in Lakdiva (Prabhath Newspaper Ltd, 1992), Hiru (1993), Lankadeepa (Wijaya Newspapers, Ltd.) and Lakbima (SumThi Newspapers Ltd., 1994-2004). Since Hettigoda frequently attacked the corruption within the governments of J.R. Jayewardene (1978-1989) and Ranasinghe Premadasa (1989-1993), he received a lot of criticism, threats and intimidation. In 2006, his cartoons were published in the weekly magazine Lanka, but since it was owned by the Marxist government party JVP, he frequently got in trouble for offending them. On 7 December 2008, for example, one of Hettigoda's Lanka cartoons caused controversy and led to death threats. To keep a low profile in later years, Hettigoda's political cartoons have mostly appeared online.
Cartoon of 25 November 2021.
Comics career
Besides topical cartoons, Hettigoda has also been notable for his long-running satirical gag comic 'Bus Stop', in which he portrays people discussing current events while waiting for the bus. The concept originated from a 1988 feature he made for Divaina Sunday. It was called 'Vatamesa' ("Round Table"), and featured conversations taking place at the editorial lunch table. Under government pressure, this feature had to be cancelled, after which Hettigoda was suspended from the newspaper, because the reputation of Upali Newspaper Company was "damaged" by these "sketches of reality". Government thugs went to a recent cartoon exhibition where Hettigoda's work was on display and vandalized it.
'Bus Stop' (1 October 2008). His signature character Mara Putraya can be seen in the right corner.
In the early 1990s, Hettigoda went to the rival newspaper company Prabhat Newspaper Ltd, where he became co-editor of the paper Lakdiva. He recycled the idea of people talking at a specific location, but now centered it at a bus stop, hence the new title 'Bus Stop'. Soon, government pressure forced him again to discontinue his comic strip, but this time the editorial board of Lakdiva all resigned out of protest and launched the new tabloid Hiru with public support, where 'Bus Stop' could continue. However, Hiru eventually folded over financial difficulties and Hettigoda and 'Bus Stop' moved to the publication Lankadeepa. Between 2006 and 2019, when Hettigoda earned his income as an university art teacher, 'Bus Stop' was sometimes published for free in the JVP newspaper Lanka.
Cartoon of 14 February 2019, featuring his signature character Mara Putraya (left).
Another strip by Winnie Hettigoda is 'Sakalajana' ('Every Man'), focusing on the Sri Lankan everyman and -woman. It debuted in the Lankadeepa newspaper in 1994, and then continued in the paper Lakbima for more than 10 years. When the cartoonist left this paper in 2006, it also meant the end of 'Sakalajana'. A recurring character in many of Hettigoda's cartoons and comics is Mara Putraya, an educated youngster with a beard, dressed in a black shirt and white trousers. His name literally translates to "The son who is not afraid of even the Devil". Mara Putraya symbolizes the youth who opposes the existing corrupt system and provides hope for the future. When Hettigoda was his heroic character's age, he was basically his mouthpiece.
Cartoon of 16 March 2011.
Academic career
In addition to cartooning, Hettigoda has been active as an art teacher. Between 2006 and 2019, he lectured on Fine Art at universities. One of his pupils was Rajitha Kamalanath. Since his retirement, he has frequently returned as a visiting lecturer. In addition, he has been on the international editorial board of IJOCA (International Journal of Comic Arts), a bi-annual journal edited by Professor John A. Lent of Temple University, USA.
Recognition
During the 21st century, Winnie Hettigoda's cartoons have been exhibited in over 25 other Sri Lankan cities. Between 12 December 2023 and 15 January 2024, for instance, at C.W.W. Kannagara Mawatha in Colombo.
Winnie Hettigoda (left) in a joint exhibition with the French cartoonist Plonthu.