The last gesture the Shiv Sena supremo made to his cartoonist friend was sending of a bouquet to Laxman at his Pune residence when the latter turned 91 on October 24, Usha, daughter-in-law of R.K.Laxman told PTI.
"Their emotional attachment had become more intense in the last few years after RK suffered a stroke. Balasaheb visited him in Breach Candy hospital to boost his spirit saying the mind should triumph over body," she recalled.
In a rare visit outside Mumbai earlier this year, Thackeray came down to Pune to meet ailing Laxman at his residence in the city and spent almost an hour with him.
"He even recommended a homoeopath to treat his ailment and presented a silver image of Saibaba", she said, adding the family deeply grieved the demise of someone who was close to them.