R. K. Laxman

R.K.Laxman
Born	(1924-10-23) 23 October 1924 Mysore, India
Occupation(s)	Cartoonist, Illustrator

The Common Man as drawn by Laxman

Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Iyer Laxman ( Kannada: ಆರ್. ಕೆ. ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮ್ ಣ್), (born 23 October 1924) is an Indian cartoonist, illustrator, and humorist. He is widely regarded as India's greatest-ever cartoonist and is best known for his creation The Common Man.

Early years

Birth and childhood

R. K. Laxman was born in Mysore. His father was a headmaster and Laxman was the youngest of six boys. One of his elder brothers, R.K. Narayan, went on to become one of India's best known English language novelists.

Laxman was engrossed by the illustrations in magazines such as Strand Magazine, Punch, Bystander, Wide World and Tit-Bits, even before he could read. Soon he was drawing on his own, on the floors, walls and doors of his house and doodling chafhSVHres 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 were the cartoons 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

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 JJ School of Arts, 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 enrollment 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

File:Malgudi.jpg

A drawing by R. K. Laxman for his brother R.K. Narayan's Malgudi Days

Beginning

Laxman's earliest work was for newspapers & magazines such as Swarajya and Blitz. Whilst still at the Maharaja's College, 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. Incidentally, Koravanji was founded in 1942 by Dr M Shivaram. He was a MBBS doctor, who had a clinic around Majestic area in Bangalore. he started this monthly magazine, dedicating to hilarious/sattiric articles and cartoons. Dr Shivaram himself was an eminent humourist in Kannada. He encouraged Laxman quite a lot. He held a summer job at the Gemini Studios, Madras. His first full-time job was as a political cartoonist for the Free Press Journal. Prominent Shiv Sena politician Bal Thackeray, was also an employee at the newspaper at that time. Laxman later joined The Times of India, beginning a career that has spanned for over fifty years.

Other creations

Among his other works, Laxman is known for his distinctive illustrations in several books, most notably for the Malgudi stories written by his elder brother R.K. Narayan. He also created a popular mascot for the Asian Paints group called Gattu. Laxman has also penned a few novels. His cartoons have appeared in Hindi films such as Mr. and Mrs. 55.

Personal life

He is married to author Kamala Laxman. He lives in both Mumbai and Pune.

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

Awards

• B.D. Goenka Award - Indian Express
• Durga Ratan Gold Medal - Hindustan Times
• Padma Bhushan - Govt. of India
• Padma Vibhushan - Govt. of India
• Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts - 1984
• Lifetime Achievement Award for Journalism - CNN IBN TV18, 29 January 2008.

Bibliography

• The Eloquent Brush: A Selection of Cartoons from Nehru to Rajiv
• 50 Years of Independence through the eyes of R.K.Laxman
• The Best of Laxman series
• Hotel Riviera
• The Messenger
• Servants of India
• The Tunnel of Time (autobiography)
• His autobiography Lakshmanrekha is published in Marathi.
• The Reel World [cartoons]published by Marwah Studios
• Brushing Up The Years- A Cartoonist's History of India- 1947 to the Present- Penguin Books

Multi-media

• India Through The Eyes of R. K. Laxman - Then To Now (CD-ROM).
• Laxman Rekhas-A TOI Publication

Quotation

When the American cartoonist Ranan Lurie asked him who the best Indian cartoonist was, Laxman flashed back, "I am." The second, third, fourth, fifth best man on the job? Laxman continued to repeat, "I am."

Trivia

• He has never kept a diary nor worn a wrist watch in his entire life
• The Common Man in his cartoons never speaks anything.^{[Contradicts the fourth point]}
• The Common Man has even travelled to Antarctica once in a cartoon.
• The Common Man speaks once in an early cartoon about Nehru. He tells Nehru even as he doesn't recognize him, "...Don't know all that Sir, but I'm voting for that man...!", pointing to Nehru's statue. (from the book 'Brushing Up the Years')

Notes

A statue of Laxman's common man can be found at the premises of Symbiosis, Pune.

References

• Laxman, R. K. (1998). The tunnel of time. India: Penguin Books.
• Laxman's-eye view Frontline Magazine - July 18 - 31, 1998