This Bengaluru-based cartoonist captures aspects of our daily lives through doodles

We all have unpleasant moments in our daily lives like waking up with puffy eyes, having a double chin, sagging skin, pesky love handles and what not. While we are so busy complaining about our imperfections, this Bengaluru-based cartoonist decided to capture the most real and humorous aspects of our daily (Indian) lives. Mounica Tata has found an artistic way to start a dialogue about body shaming, feminism, marital rape, and colour politics. 

Through her Instagram handle DoodleoDrama, the self-taught cartoonist demonstrates the different aspects women are shamed for. Besides breaking the silence on the patriarchal bias, her artwork talks about fat shaming too. But why the name DoodleoDrama? “I was in college when I came up with this name. Back then I didn’t think I’d do this for a living. Since I was doodling about life’s drama, the name seemed fitting. And I like everything round (just like my characters), so I fit in an ‘o’ in between doodle and drama. Now I have a dog named Leo, so a lot of people assume it’s ‘dood (dude) Leo drama’, which also works,” she laughs.

Born and raised in Hyderabad, Mounica captures the most real and humorous aspects of Indian scenarios, with a feminist touch. Seeing the wit and humour in her illustrations, we wonder what inspired her to come up with such a unique platform? “I create comics and illustrations out of real-life scenarios. My comics are mostly my observation of the society and culture in general,” she adds.

Number game: DoodleoDrama has 27k followers on Instagram

But what made her want to raise her voice against body negativity? “I wish it was just one incident. Unfortunately, there have been many. As a woman (or man even), I’m sure all of us have been shamed and objectified. Through my work, I’m just trying to normalise things; tell people that breasts are a part of the human female anatomy, just like stretch marks, cellulite, and spots and blemishes. I urge people to see beyond skin, colour and shape. We are more than that,” says the 29-year-old.

Last year, the artist started a series titled Shame, to illustrate issues like sexual harassment and body shaming. “I mostly draw about issues that I can closely relate to. You will find that most of my work revolves around what it is like to be a woman in our society. I chose not to live in a bubble and draw only happy things,” says Mounica, who is an alumna of Christ University, Bengaluru. 

Everyday life and people inspire me. I like observing people and general human behaviour. There’s a story everywhere; you just need to look around 
 

Mounica Tata, Artist

While most artists wouldn’t choose to start a dialogue about social issues, Mounica is definitely a woman of courage who dares to raise her voice against the patriarchal society.  “Finding your voice and your style is a challenge and I’m learning every day,” she says, thoughtfully.