Humour is a powerful ally of dissent, they say. And a young and intrepid Jamshedpur cartoonist Rakesh Ranjan is proving this point even in these volatile times.

In his first open-house cartoon exhibition in Sakchi on Friday, Rakesh spelt out his take, his doodles attacking political parties for polarising the media or muzzling it, condemning the assault on JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar at Patiala House court, the country's reservation policy and failures on the economic front.

The 35-odd cartoons - computer printouts put up on a makeshift kiosk at the south-end of the Sakchi roundabout - on the burning issues of the day attracted a good crowd.

Many were curious, some chuckled, many heckled the cartoonist.

"I think over 300 persons on Friday expressed their views for and against my cartoons. Many also started to argue with me about my take on the government's role in handling the JNU imbroglio and suppressing the voice of the students. They also attacked me for my views against reservation. But I was mentally prepared for all this," Rakesh, who got his masters in journalism and mass communication from Rajasthan University last year, said.

He admitted his parents were pretty apprehensive about his cartoon exhibition but he went ahead with it anyway.

"My parents were afraid I would be targeted by political parties and vandals. My mother Bina Sinha refused to leave me alone during the exhibition. In fact, she accompanied me to the Sakchi roundabout and sat through the exhibition. My father Choudhary Shanker Prasad, a constable in the state excise department, kept on calling me on my cellphone to know if I faced any protest or tension," Rakesh, a resident of Hume Pipe in Bhuiyandih, added.

Rakesh had earlier posted some of his cartoons on Facebook, earning comments that bordered on threats, he said. Ire online inspired him to go offline with an exhibition.

"Some people (on Facebook) asked me to go to Pakistan and get my DNA checked. All this made me more determined to express my views on current issues among people on the street," he said.

What's next? "After Sakchi, I would like to hold an exhibition in Bistupur. I'd like to host one in Ranchi too. And yes, even Delhi and other metros. I am encouraged by people's reaction to my effort to portray the freedom of speech," said the freelance cartoonist.

Should more artists hold such exhibitions? Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com