"A
cartoonist does not speak for himself. He speaks for the general
opinion; he speaks for the common sense. I don't pursue an ideology;
I don't belong to a party. I follow common sense, whatever is
pragmatic". Thus says R K Laxman, India's best-loved
cartoonist of the "YOU SAID IT" fame of Times of India.
Recently, an exhibition of R K Laxman's cartoons was held at
Java City on Church Street. The pithy pencil sketches
with the succinct phrase drew attention to the commoner's life
and problems. A cartoonist, as Laxman sees it, requires three
basic assets- a sound education, a talent to draw and a sense
of humour!
Laxman's cartoons depict the tragic-magic in everyday
life, helping to consciously practice looking at the joys of
the lighter side of life. His humour is directed at the vast
human drama, which is being constantly enacted from bickering
among super powers, terrorism, corruption in high places, to
the immediate problems of pot holes and power shortage, water
crisis, soaring prices, strikes and traffic jams. And his "common
man" of "You said it" with his unchanging dhoti
and checked shirt and a perpetually bewildered expression symbolises
the mute millions of India, a silent spectator of marching time!
The "common man" who finds that the leaky tap in the
bathroom is of greater concern to him than the failure of the
summit! The "common man" who is more bothered by the
rise in the cost of toothpaste and tomatoes than in the deficit
in our foreign exchange reserves!
Laxman
has also been drawing crows since childhood, as he believes
that these are very powerful and intelligent birds, and that
they can even count up to seven!!
R K Laxman was born in Mysore in the 1920s. He became
familiar with styles and techniques of great English artists
like David Low and Illingworth from a very early age and started
drawing sketches of people and objects around him. His foray
into cartooning began when he was a student and contributed
sketches to magazines in Mysore and Madras. He then went to
Bombay in the 1940s, spent six months with the Press Free
Journal and has been with Times of India since then. Many
awards have come his way, like the 1984 Magsaysay award,
the Padma Bhushan, the Horniman award and in
1988, the B D Goenka award for excellence in journalism.
In 1985, Laxman became the first Indian cartoonist to exhibit
in London, where he also had the opportunity to meet the idols
of his childhood, David Low and Illingworth.
R K Laxman's genius has transformed the lowly pencil
into a powerful medium, a weapon of immense respectability.
And just imagine the Times of India without R K Laxman…...
Unthinkable, isn't it?
12:22:11 PM 
cartoonist does not speak for himself. He speaks for the general
opinion; he speaks for the common sense. I don't pursue an ideology;
I don't belong to a party. I follow common sense, whatever is
pragmatic". Thus says R K Laxman, India's best-loved
cartoonist of the "YOU SAID IT" fame of Times of India.
everyday
life, helping to consciously practice looking at the joys of
the lighter side of life. His humour is directed at the vast
human drama, which is being constantly enacted from bickering
among super powers, terrorism, corruption in high places, to
the immediate problems of pot holes and power shortage, water
crisis, soaring prices, strikes and traffic jams. And his "common
man" of "You said it" with his unchanging dhoti
and checked shirt and a perpetually bewildered expression symbolises
the mute millions of India, a silent spectator of marching time!
The "common man" who finds that the leaky tap in the
bathroom is of greater concern to him than the failure of the
summit! The "common man" who is more bothered by the
rise in the cost of toothpaste and tomatoes than in the deficit
in our foreign exchange reserves!
Laxman
has also been drawing crows since childhood, as he believes
that these are very powerful and intelligent birds, and that
they can even count up to seven!!
