R. K. Laxman

R. K. Laxman
File:Laxman with common man.jpg
Born	Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Laxman (1921-10-24)24 October 1921 Mysore, British India (Karnataka, India)
Died	Pune, Maharashtra, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Cartoonist, illustrator
Known for	Common Man cartoon
Spouse(s)	Kumari Kamala (M. ?–1960; divorced) Kamala Laxman
Relatives	R. K. Narayan (Brother)
Awards	Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Ramon Magsaysay Award
Website	www.rklaxman.com
Signature

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Laxman (24 October 1921 – 26 January 2015) was an Indian cartoonist, illustrator, and humorist. He was best known for his creation The Common Man and for his daily cartoon strip, "You Said It" in The Times of India, which started in 1951.

Laxman started his career as a part-time cartoonist, working mostly for local newspapers and magazines. While a college student, he illustrated his elder brother R. K. Narayan's stories in The Hindu. His first full-time job was as a political cartoonist for the The Free Press Journal in Mumbai. Later, he joined The Times of India, and became famous for The Common Man character.

Birth and childhood

R. K. Laxman was born in Mysore in 1921. His father was a headmaster and Laxman was the youngest of six sons (he had a sister as well); an older brother is the famous novelist R. K. Narayan. Laxman was known as "Pied Piper of Delhi".

Laxman was engrossed by the illustrations in magazines such as The Strand, Punch, Bystander, Wide World and Tit-Bits, before he had even begun to read. Soon he was drawing on his own, on the floors, walls and doors of his house and doodling caricatures of his teachers at school; praised by a teacher for his drawing of a peepal leaf, he began to think of himself as an artist in the making. Another early influence on Laxman was the work of the world-renowned British cartoonist, Sir David Low (whose signature he misread as "cow" for a long time) that appeared now and then in The Hindu. Laxman notes in his autobiography, The Tunnel of Time:

I drew objects that caught my eye outside the window of my room – the dry twigs, leaves and lizard-like creatures crawling about, the servant chopping firewood and, of course, and number of crows in various postures on the rooftops of the buildings opposite

— R. K. Laxman

Laxman was the captain of his local "Rough and Tough and Jolly" cricket team and his antics inspired the stories "Dodu the Money Maker" and "The Regal Cricket Club" written by his brother, Narayan. Laxman's idyllic childhood was shaken for a while when his father suffered a paralytic stroke and died around a year later, but the elders at home bore most of the increased responsibility, while Laxman continued with his schooling.

After high school, Laxman applied to the J. J. School of Art, Bombay hoping to concentrate on his lifelong interests of drawing and painting, but the dean of the school wrote to him that his drawings lacked "the kind of talent to qualify for enrolment in our institution as a student", and refused admission. He finally graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Mysore. In the meantime he continued his freelance artistic activities and contributed cartoons to Swarajya and an animated film based on the mythological character Narada.

Career

Beginning

Laxman's earliest work was for newspapers and magazines including Swarajya and Blitz. While still at the Maharaja College of Mysore, he began to illustrate his elder brother R. K. Narayan's stories in The Hindu, and he drew political cartoons for the local newspapers and for the Swatantra. Laxman also drew cartoons for the Kannada humour magazine, Koravanji (which was founded in 1942 by Dr M. Shivaram who was an allopath and had a clinic in the Majestic area of Bangalore. He started this monthly magazine, dedicating it to humorous and satirical articles and cartoons. Shivaram himself was an eminent humourist in Kannada. He encouraged Laxman.)

Laxman held a summer job at the Gemini Studios, Madras. His first full-time job was as a political cartoonist for the The Free Press Journal in Mumbai, where Bal Thackeray was his cartoonist colleague. Laxman later joined The Times of India, Bombay, beginning a career that spanned over fifty years. His "Common Man" character, featured in his pocket cartoons, is portrayed as a witness to the making of democracy. Anthropologist Ritu G. Khanduri notes, "R. K. Laxman structures his cartoon-news through a plot about corruption and a set of characters. This news is visualized and circulates through the recurring figures of the mantri (minister), the Common Man and the trope of modernity symbolized by the airplane (2012: 304)."

Other creations

Laxman also created a popular mascot for the Asian Paints group called Gattu in 1954. He also wrote a few novels, the first one of which was titled The Hotel Riviera. His cartoons have appeared in Hindi films such as Mr. & Mrs. '55 and a Tamil film Kamaraj. His creations also include the sketches drawn for the television adaptation of Malgudi Days which was written by his elder brother R. K. Narayan and directed by Shankar Nag. Laxman also drew caricatures of David Low, T.S. Eliot, Bertrand Russell, J.B. Priestly and Graham Greene.

Personal life

A tribute to the late R. K. Laxman by cartoonist Shekhar Gurera

Laxman was first married to Bharatanatyam dancer and film actress Kumari Kamala Laxman, who began her film career as a child actress named "Baby Kamala" and graduated into adult roles under the name "Kumari Kamala" ("Miss Kamala"). They had no children and after their divorce Laxman married a woman whose first name was again Kamala. This was the author and children's book writer Kamala Laxman. In a cartoon series named "The star I never met" in film magazine Filmfare he painted a cartoon of Kamala Laxman, with the title "The star I only met!" The couple had a son Srinivas, who worked for a while with The Times of India too.

In September 2003, Laxman was affected by a stroke which left him paralysed on his left side. He partly recovered from its effects.

On the evening of 20 June 2010, Laxman was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai after being transported by an air ambulance from Pune.

In October 2012 Laxman celebrated his 91st birthday in Pune. During a private gathering at his residence, Laxman cut the cake and was presented a DVD of a documentary titled The Brainy Crow by his fan Rajvardhan Patil, depicting the life and survival of the favourite bird of the cartoonist. Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, who had a past association with Laxman as a cartoonist, sent birthday greetings to him, family sources said. Scientist Jayant Narlikar and Symbiosis University chancellor S. B. Mujumdar also came to greet him on the occasion.

Death

Laxman died at the age of 93 at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune on 26 January 2015, which incidentally happened to be India's Republic Day. He was hospitalized on 23 January for urinary tract infection and chest-related problems that ultimately led to multi-organ failure. He had reportedly suffered multiple strokes since 2010.

A cartoon that Laxman had made following the successful landing of Mangalyaan on Mars was posted by the Indian Space Research Organisation on its Facebook and Twitter pages on 27 January. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that Laxman would be accorded a state funeral and a memorial would be built in his honour. Laxman's body was kept at the Symbiosis Institute's Pune premises near the "Common Man" statue and his body was cremated at the Vaikunth crematorium.

Laxman is survived by his wife Kamala, son Srinivas, his daughter-in-law and his granddaughter Mahalaxmi Laxman.

Awards and recognition

"The Common Man" by R K Laxman at Symbiosis Institute, Pune

• Padma Bhushan – Govt. of India – 1973
• Padma Vibhushan – Govt. of India – 2005
• Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts – 1984
• Lifetime Achievement Award for Journalism – CNN IBN TV18 – 29 January 2008
• Pune Pandit Award (Scholar of Pune Award) by the Art & Music Foundation for excellence in 'Creative Communication' – 2012
• Honorary Doctorate from the University of Mysore – 2004

There is a chair named after R. K. Laxman at Symbiosis International University.

Bibliography

• His autobiography Lakshmanrekha is published in Marathi.
• The Reel World [cartoons] published by Marwah Studio.

Multimedia

• India Through The Eyes of R. K. Laxman – Then To Now (CD-ROM).
• R K Laxman Ki Duniya – A Television show on SAB TV.

References

• Laxman's-eye view Frontline Magazine – 18–31 July 1998