Humor publications played a major role in the growth of Malayalam cartoons. Before visual media became active, print publications were the primary source of entertainment. Humorous literature and publications enjoyed great popularity. More than a dozen humor magazines were published in Malayalam during that period. One of the humor magazines that attracted considerable attention in the early days was *Narmada*. Through *Narmada*, numerous cartoons reached Malayali readers. The person who provided a platform for many cartoonists through the magazine *Narmada* was Raghavan Nair. Raghavan Nair also created cartoons himself. Many of his works appeared as the cover illustrations of *Narmada*.
Raghavan Nair was born in February 1918 to Haripad Kesavan Nair and Kunjilakshmi Amma. He began his professional life as an art teacher. In addition to cartooning, he also wrote humorous poems and stories. He used the pen names Artist, Narman, and Chithralekha. He was popularly known as Artist Raghavan Nair. He served as a member of the executive committees of the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi and the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, both government cultural institutions.
Some of Artist Raghavan Nair’s notable books are *Lathicharge*, *Kilukkampetti*, *Pulival*, *Ikkili Romanchangal*, and *Hridayaspandanam*. He passed away on November 20, 1981. His wife was Suman, a homeopathic doctor.
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