R.K. Laxman

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Laxman, commonly known as R.K. Laxman, is an Indian cartoonist, humorist and illustrator. He was born on 24 October 1921, Mysuru. He died on 26 January 2015, Pune. 'The Common Man' and 'You Said It’ in The Times of India are two of his most famous creations. The realization that being an Artist and drawing could be a career for him hit him much early in his life because doodling was his sole passion. His fascination with drawing began quite early in his life, where he particularly loved to glance at the illustrations in magazines wherever he could find them. The budding artist, therefore, started doodling as soon his hands caught hold of the creative weapon.

R.K. Laxman once applied to study at the J. J. School of Art, Bombay, but he couldn’t make it. With lots of courage and restarting from dwelling in disappointment, he began taking up freelance projects with newspapers that eventually led him to his first full-time job as a political cartoonist. R.K. Laxman's earliest work was for newspapers Rohan and magazines including Swarajya and Blitz. While he was graduating from Maharaja College of Mysore, he began to illustrate his brother R. K. Narayan's stories in columns of The Hindu, and he drew political cartoons for the local newspapers and the Swatantra. Laxman also drew cartoons for the Kannada humor magazine, Koravanji. The cartoonist also held a summer job at the Gemini Studios, Madras.

His first full-time job was as a political cartoonist for The Free Press Journal in Mumbai, where coincidently, Bal Thackeray was his cartoonist colleague. In the year 1951, Laxman joined The Times of India, Mumbai, beginning a career that lasted for over fifty years. R.K. Laxman soon became the name recognized vehemently across the nation. R.K. Laxman, the recipient of India’s second-highest civilian honor, Padma Vibhushan, was not just a cartoonist but an incredible Author as well. He had published several short stories and essays. His first novel was titled The Hotel Riviera.

The artist was married twice, he was first married to Bharatanatyam dancer and film actress Kumari Kamala though the marriage ended in divorce. Later he remarried another woman, unexpectedly also named Kamala. His second wife was a writer as well and wrote books for children. The couple had a son named Srinivas, who also worked for a while with The Times of India too. Unfortunately, R.K. Laxman experienced a stroke in 2003 that left him paralyzed on his left side. He later suffered multiple strokes since 2010 and began keeping in ill health ever since then. Laxman died in Pune on 26 January 2015 at the age of 93. R.K. Laxman's corps was held at the Symbiosis Institute's Pune premises near the "Common Man" statue and following his body was cremated at the Vaikunth crematorium.