Rasipuram Krishnaswami Laxman[1] (24 October 1921 – 26 January 2015) was an Indian cartoonist, illustrator, and humorist.[2] 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.[3]
R. K. Laxman started his career as a part-time cartoonist, working mostly for local newspapers and magazines. While as a college student, he illustrated his older brother R. K. Narayan's stories in The Hindu.[4] His first full-time job was as a political cartoonist for The Free Press Journal in Mumbai. Later, he joined The Times of India, and became famous for The Common Man character, which turned out to be the turning point in Laxman's life.
Birth and childhood
Early Life and Education of R. K. Laxman
R. K. Laxman was born in 1921 in Mysore, Karnataka, into a Tamil Hindu family. His father, a school headmaster, and his mother raised eight children, including six sons and two daughters. Laxman was the youngest sibling, and his elder brother was the renowned novelist R. K. Narayan. Despite spending most of his life in Mumbai, Laxman earned the nickname “Pied Piper of Delhi” for his ability to charm audiences through his work.
From an early age, Laxman was captivated by illustrations in magazines such as The Strand, Punch, Bystander, Wide World, and Tit-Bits. Even before learning to read, he began drawing on floors, walls, and doors around his house, often sketching caricatures of his teachers. Encouraged by praise from a teacher who admired his drawing of a peepal leaf, Laxman started envisioning himself as an artist.
A significant influence on Laxman’s style was the work of British cartoonist Sir David Low, whose cartoons occasionally appeared in The Hindu. For a time, Laxman humorously misread Low’s signature as “cow,” a detail he recalls fondly in his autobiography, The Tunnel of Time.
Laxman’s childhood also included a passion for cricket, and he captained his local team, the “Rough and Tough and Jolly” cricket club. His spirited antics inspired his brother R. K. Narayan to write stories like Dodu the Money Maker and The Regal Cricket Club. However, his idyllic youth faced a disruption when his father suffered a paralytic stroke and passed away about a year later. Despite this loss, his family’s support allowed Laxman to continue his schooling at Maharaja’s Government High School in Mysore.
After high school, Laxman applied to the Sir J. J. Institute of Applied Art in Mumbai to pursue his passion for drawing and painting. However, the dean rejected his application, stating his drawings lacked “the kind of talent” required for enrollment. Undeterred, Laxman went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Mysore. During his college years, he honed his skills through freelance artistic projects, contributing cartoons to publications like Swarajya and creating an animated film featuring the mythological figure Narada.
Career
Beginning
R. K. Laxman began his artistic journey contributing to various newspapers and magazines, including Rohan, Swarajya, and Blitz. While studying at Maharaja’s College in Mysore, he illustrated stories by his elder brother R. K. Narayan published in The Hindu and created political cartoons for local newspapers such as Swatantra. He also contributed to the Kannada humor magazine Koravanji, founded in 1942 by humorist M. Shivaram, who played a significant role in encouraging Laxman’s early work.
During a summer job at Gemini Studios in Madras, Laxman further explored his artistic capabilities. His first full-time position as a political cartoonist was with The Free Press Journal in Mumbai, where he worked alongside future political figure Bal Thackeray. In 1951, Laxman joined The Times of India, where he remained for over five decades, solidifying his legacy as one of India’s most celebrated cartoonists.
The Common Man
Laxman’s most iconic creation, The Common Man, became a defining feature of his career. This character, featured in his pocket cartoons in The Times of India, served as a silent witness to the everyday struggles, absurdities, and nuances of Indian democracy. His cartoons often depicted issues of corruption, bureaucracy, and societal challenges, as anthropologist Ritu G. Khanduri observed:
“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.”
Other creations
In addition to his political cartoons, Laxman created “Gattu,” the beloved mascot for Asian Paints in 1954. His artistic versatility extended to writing as well, with his debut novel The Hotel Riviera garnering attention. Laxman’s work also featured in Indian cinema, with his cartoons appearing in the Hindi film Mr. & Mrs. ’55 and the Tamil film Kamaraj.
Laxman contributed significantly to television and other media. He illustrated for the acclaimed television adaptation of Malgudi Days, based on R. K. Narayan’s stories, and created characters for the Hindi sitcom Wagle Ki Duniya, set on the Konkan coast. Over the years, he also drew caricatures of notable figures like David Low, T. S. Eliot, Dr. Rajkumar, Bertrand Russell, J. B. Priestley, and Graham Greene, further showcasing his artistic prowess.
Personal life
R. K. Laxman was first married to Kumari Kamala, a renowned Bharatanatyam dancer and film actress who started her career as a child actress under the name “Baby Kamala” and later transitioned to adult roles as “Kumari Kamala.” The couple had no children and divorced in 1960.
Laxman later married his niece, Kamala Laxman, a children’s book author and writer. Reflecting their relationship, Laxman created a cartoon of Kamala for his series The Star I Never Met in the film magazine Filmfare, humorously titled “The star I only met!” The couple had a son, Srinivas Laxman, a Mumbai-based freelance space journalist who frequently contributed to The Times of India.
In September 2003, Laxman suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed on his left side. Despite this setback, he managed to recover partially and continued his creative work. On June 20, 2010, he was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai after being transported via air ambulance from Pune.
Laxman’s personal life was marked by both challenges and resilience, with his family and work remaining central to his identity.
Death
Laxman died in Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune on India's Republic Day in 2015 at the age of 93. He was hospitalised three days earlier for a urinary tract infection and chest problems that ultimately led to multiple organ failure.[5] He had reportedly suffered multiple strokes since 2010.[6][7][8] 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.[9] 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.[10]
Awards and recognition
- Padma Bhushan – Govt. of India – 1973[6]
- Padma Vibhushan – Govt. of India – 2005[11]
- Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts – 1984[6]
- Karnataka Rajyotsava Award – Government of Karnataka – 1983
- Lifetime Achievement Award for Journalism – CNN IBN TV18 – 29 January 2008[12]
- Pune Pandit Award (Scholar of Pune Award) by the Art & Music Foundation for excellence in 'Creative Communication' – 2012[12]
- Honorary Doctorate from the University of Mysore – 2004[13]
There is a chair named after R. K. Laxman at Symbiosis International University.[14]
Exhibitions by IIC
Exhibitions of Laxman's cartoons organised by Indian Institute of Cartoonists at Indian Cartoon Gallery.
| Date | Exhibition | Inaugurated by |
|---|---|---|
| 6th Feb 2009 | R. K. Laxman | Jayaramaraje Urs |
| 8th Feb 2012 | R. K. Laxman's Unpublished Doodles | M N Venkatachaliah, Girish Karnad |
| 17th Aug 2013 | Famous Fifteen | Tadao Kagaya (Japanese Cartoonist) |
| 21st Oct 2013 | Best of Laxman | ... |
| 27th Oct 2014 | Faces : Laxman's Caricatures | ... |
| 23rd Jan.2016 | START-UP R. K. Laxman from Koravanji | Usha Srinivas Laxman, M.Shivakumar, Beluru Ramamurthy |
| 15th Oct 2016 | Unpublished R.K.Laxman [15] | ... |
| 14th Oct 2020 | hadhi Exhibition on his 100th Birth Anniversary | ... |
Legacy
- R K Laxman Museum: R. K. Laxman Museum in Pune houses over 35000 illustrations of R. K. Laxman. The exhibits have been displayed in several galleries. An entire gallery is dedicated to the life of Laxman. It houses rare photos of his childhood and also displays photos of his elder brother the famous novelist R. K. Narayan. The museum also has a light and sound show.[16]
Popular culture
- Actor Asif Ali Beg portrayed R.K.Laxman in Scam 1992, a Sony LIV's original web series based on 1992 Indian stock market scam of Harshad Mehta, where he was shown to be interacting with journalist Sucheta Dalal while working for the Times of India, Mumbai.[17]
- On 24 October 2015, Google featured Laxman on a Google Doodle to honour him on the occasion of his 94th birthday.[18]
Bibliography
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- His autobiography Lakshmanrekha is published in Marathi.[19]
- The Reel World [cartoons] published by Marwah Studio.
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- Unny, E.P. (2022). RK Laxman: Back with a Punch. Niyogi Books. ISBN 978-93-91125-27-1.
(He also wrote a book named Banker Margiah in Kannada to create awareness about Banking, about how to open a bank account by a common man. Later a movie was reseased. Which was awarded National Award as well.).
Multimedia
- India Through The Eyes of R. K. Laxman – Then To Now (CD-ROM).[20]
- R K Laxman Ki Duniya, a television show on SAB TV.[21]
- Wagle Ki Duniya, a television show on DD National.
References
External links
- Documentary by Films Division of India on YouTube
- Audio-visual presentation by Sansad TV on YouTube (in Hindi)
- Interview with Karan Thapar for the BBC show Face to Face on YouTube
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- ↑ Template:Cite book Pg. 11 in the source says that Laxman & his brother Narayan were Tamil Iyer Brahmins.
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- ↑ Unpublished R.K.Laxman Whatshapp Bangalore : October 13, 2016
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