Legendary cartoonist RK Laxman
died yesterday at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, Pune; he was 94. He died
following a multiple-organ failure. His health has been quite feeble since 2010
when he had multiple heart attacks; presently, he was hospitalized due to a
urinary tract infection and kidney malfunctioning, he was put on a ventilator
for some time now.
His cartoon series 'You said it'
has been appearing on the front page of The Times of India, a leading Indian
newspaper for over 50 years.
Younger brother of renowned
novelist RK Narayan, Laxman was famous for his sarcastic humor that spared
no-one. He is most famous for his character 'Common Man'. An 8-foot statue of
the 'Common Man' has been erected in Pune to show reverence to the cartoonist.
His cartoons always showed mirror
to the society. He was of the opinion that politicians only govern the country,
they don’t represent it. "I
wouldn't say politicians represent the country. I don't think they do. They
have forgotten the common man, they think the common man belongs to them, to
serve them," Laxman said once.
Though his cartoons are known to
paint the political figures in a jocular color, various politicians - including
the top ones- were big admirers of his art. Once Nehru rang him up to ask for a
signed copy of one of Nehru's own cartoons that made fun of the then PM.
RK Laxman was awarded Padma
Vibhushan, a civilian award of repute, in 2005.
A famous anecdote about him is
that he and Bal Thackeray both applied for a job in the TOI, he got selected
and Thackeray wasn’t; Thackeray went on to form a major regional party in
Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena.
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