Laxman immortalised passive, hapless common man

Capturing the entire gamut of idiosyncrasies of Indian politicians in an innocuous newspaper box with his cartoons, R K Laxman immortalised the passive, hapless common man with an uncanny perception and sarcasm in a daily commentary on his life that brought smiles to millions.
Every morning for over five decades, his fans waited for the Common Man who, with his signature checked jacket, dhoti, Gandhi-glasses and twin tufts of gravity-defying hair, watched life and politics in India.
With his masterful strokes using the space of couple of inches, he exposed the hypocrisy in politics, leaving many a politician red-faced.
The iconic cartoonist died in Pune today after prolonged illness at the age of 94.

The son of a school teacher --- Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Laxman- who rose to become India's best known political cartoonist, was born in Mysore on October 24, 1921. He was one of the seven siblings that included his elder brother eminent novelist R.K.Narayan.
With a penchant for drawing since his school days, Laxman was engrossed by the illustrations in magazines such as "Punch", " Tit-Bits", " Strand" and " Bystander" and came under an early influence of world renowned British cartoonist Sir David Low.

A creative genius, Laxman was known to have started doodling even before he could read, using floors, walls and doors of his house.

His artistic bent of mind was appreciated by a school teacher who noticed a drawing by him on a peepal leaf.
In his autobiography "The Tunnel of Time", the legendary cartoonist recalls, "I drew objects that caught my eye outside the widow of my room--- the dry twigs, leaves and lizard like creatures crawling about, the servant chopping firewood and of course, the number of crows in various postures on the rooftops of the buildings opposite?".
The crow was also a common figure in his cartoons later on.
Overcoming the setback in the death of his father, the young Laxman completed high school education and sought admission to Mumbai's J J School of Arts.

Ironically his application was rejected by the dean who remarked that his drawings "lacked the kind of talent required to qualify for enrolment in our institution as a student".
Laxman subsequently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from University of Mysore even as he continued with freelancing and contributed cartoons to " Blitz", " Swarajya" and an animated film based on the mythological character of "Narada".