Biography Category
Name :
Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Laxman
Date :
Views :
594
Category :
Birth Date :
01/05/2026
Birth Place :
-
Death Date :
-
[b]Narayan – His Mentor[/b][br /]
[br /]
The lesser known fact is that, at that point of time no one knew that among his brothers was a great Indian writer in English in the making, R K Narayan. He did not bother much about Laxman’s academic problems. He turned his attention to Laxman’s personal appearance and habits as trimming hair or applying little oil and combing, helping him give up biting his nails and his habit of wiping his hands, mouth and face with his shirt. It was Narayan, who was a mentor to Laxman and kept a watch on him when he climbed trees, learnt to ride a bicycle or played cricket. Narayan also wrote a story on him, Dodu, the Money Maker, inspired by Laxman’s activities. This story won him an award in a literary competition sponsored by a magazine in Madras.[br /]
[br /]
[b]His Inspiration[/b][br /]
[br /]
Laxman said: "I looked upon the business of sitting daily in a classroom for hours, to study, learn and face examinations, as an unavoidable family and social obligation. But I believed drawing and sketching were vital commitments to my whole future life." One day, by accident he saw a cartoon in the Hindu. He studied it and it held his attention for a long time. He looked at the name of the artist at the bottom of the cartoon, which read ‘cow’. Then onwards he used to look for the ‘cow’ cartoons that appeared in the Hindu. He spent hours gazing at the drawing and observing it – the gentle caricature of faces, the effortless flow of lines, the perspective, the drapery – a masterpiece of visual satire. He became an avid follower of this illustrator’s work. Much later he learnt that his name was not ‘cow’ but ‘Low’ – the world-renowned illustrator, Sir David Low. Low was an immigrant from New Zealand settled in London working for the Evening Standard as its political cartoonist.[br /]
[br /]
Laxman had a chance to meet the person who inspired him a few years later. After five years with the Times of India as its political cartoonist, one day in 1952 when Laxman came to his desk he saw a couple sitting in the chairs opposite to his desk waiting for him. They were Mr and Mrs David Low. They were in Mumbai for a few hours. Laxman took the couple on a sight seeing trip, which concluded with a view from the Malabar Hill.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The lesser known fact is that, at that point of time no one knew that among his brothers was a great Indian writer in English in the making, R K Narayan. He did not bother much about Laxman’s academic problems. He turned his attention to Laxman’s personal appearance and habits as trimming hair or applying little oil and combing, helping him give up biting his nails and his habit of wiping his hands, mouth and face with his shirt. It was Narayan, who was a mentor to Laxman and kept a watch on him when he climbed trees, learnt to ride a bicycle or played cricket. Narayan also wrote a story on him, Dodu, the Money Maker, inspired by Laxman’s activities. This story won him an award in a literary competition sponsored by a magazine in Madras.[br /]
[br /]
[b]His Inspiration[/b][br /]
[br /]
Laxman said: "I looked upon the business of sitting daily in a classroom for hours, to study, learn and face examinations, as an unavoidable family and social obligation. But I believed drawing and sketching were vital commitments to my whole future life." One day, by accident he saw a cartoon in the Hindu. He studied it and it held his attention for a long time. He looked at the name of the artist at the bottom of the cartoon, which read ‘cow’. Then onwards he used to look for the ‘cow’ cartoons that appeared in the Hindu. He spent hours gazing at the drawing and observing it – the gentle caricature of faces, the effortless flow of lines, the perspective, the drapery – a masterpiece of visual satire. He became an avid follower of this illustrator’s work. Much later he learnt that his name was not ‘cow’ but ‘Low’ – the world-renowned illustrator, Sir David Low. Low was an immigrant from New Zealand settled in London working for the Evening Standard as its political cartoonist.[br /]
[br /]
Laxman had a chance to meet the person who inspired him a few years later. After five years with the Times of India as its political cartoonist, one day in 1952 when Laxman came to his desk he saw a couple sitting in the chairs opposite to his desk waiting for him. They were Mr and Mrs David Low. They were in Mumbai for a few hours. Laxman took the couple on a sight seeing trip, which concluded with a view from the Malabar Hill.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]Introduction[/b][br /]
[br /]
The most loved Indian cartoonist, Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Laxman was born in 1927 in a well-to-do Kannada family in Mysore. His father was a headmaster in a school. He was known for being a hard taskmaster. Laxman was the youngest among six brothers. Laxman’s father nicknamed him ‘The Tiger’, for his temperament had to retain his calm at this juncture.[br /]
[br /]
His mother was quite opposite to his father in nature. She was a good tennis player as well as proficient in
bridge and a champion in chess. She used to attend the Maharani Ladies Club. Laxman was comfortable at home in his mother’s absence, as he was habituated, but at night he wanted to be with her.[br /]
[br /]
He was never admitted to any school past his age. This boy was still on playing grounds, while boys of his age were busy rhyming poems in the classroom. Meanwhile, his uncle Chikkannayappa, from Madras, visited their place and discovered the fact and Laxman was admitted at a nearby municipal primary school. To everyone’s surprise, Laxman followed his uncle back home on the very first day with tears in his eyes. His Mother was shocked to see the tears in the eyes of her little angel, cancelled the word ‘school’ from his life which gradually happened to be a boon in disguise.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Growing up ![/b][br /]
[br /]
He had a passion for sketching since childhood. He used to draw street scenes, people and landscapes. As a child he used to collect bicycle chains, hubcaps from a car, deflated footballs, a home-made cricket bat, tennis balls, empty chocolate boxes etc. One day he found three broken glass panes : in red, blue and green, offering him a world of magic – turning the landscape into different colors; an entire garden, trees, flowers, the gardener etc. drenched in green. Then transform the landscape from one color to another. He used to gather his father’s magazines and got lost looking in large illustrations. His favorite magazine was Strand. He also read Bystander, Wide World, Tit Bits and Punch. He used to read jokes under the cartoons, which developed his visualization and sense of humor, knowing improper society or human anatomy without being conscious of what it was.[br /]
[br /]
One day, impressed by one of the cartoons from Punch, Laxman sat down with a paper and pencil to copy it. Noticing this, one of his brothers remarked, "Copying? Never. Look around, observe and sketch! You will never be an artist if you copy. It is like eating the leftovers from somebody’s plate." Thereafter, Laxman never dared to copy anything. Those were his happy days, but they ended within a few months.[br /]
[br /]
[b]The Little Artist at School[/b][br /]
[br /]
Chikkannayappa repeatedly failed in BA English exam and came to his brother Narayan for tuition. Sometimes he played with Laxman, when his brother was busy doing something else. One such day, while playing, he looked at the watch and inquired Laxman about his going to school. Laxman refused and this time he took Laxman to the municipal primary school again. The headmaster recognized him, re-admitted and prevented him from running after Chikkannayappa.[br /]
[br /]
That day onwards, Laxman attended his classes regularly. He insisted on going to school, even on Sundays. His teacher, often left the class to the monitor to smoke a beedi.[br /]
[br /]
One day the teacher left the room assigning them to draw a leaf, of any kind. The class was excited. The students put their creative juices to the ‘leaf task’ given by their teacher. Every one was full of imagination. On entering the class, the teacher had a look at each picture. Then came Laxman’s turn and the teacher stared at his picture for long and asked if it was his own work. Laxman was aghast with fear. Slowly he replied that it was his. Holding the slate up in the class, the teacher announced: "Attention! Look how nicely Laxman has drawn the leaf!" Then he told Laxman: "You will be an artist one day. Keep it up." He gave Laxman full credit. The teacher was impressed by the perfect shape of his Peepal leaf with the veins branching out along the midriff.[br /]
[br /]
Laxman was inspired by this unexpected encouragement. He started to visualize himself as an artist. It was common to see his drawings on the floors, walls and doors of his house. Once he saw his father sitting in a chair and reading newspaper. He looked like a Roman senator stood out clearly and the fringe of gray hair circling his bald head like a wreath added to his imposing appearance. Laxman sketched his father on the floor with a chalk. His mother, who was passing by, recognized the caricature. With a laugh, she invited his father to have a look at it. His father got furious and asked to wipe it off immediately. The mother insisted that it should remain till others came home and had a look at it. The caricature remained on the floor for a long time till it faded and disappeared in the course of time.[br /]
[br /]
With the passing of each year, the school lost its charm. Lessons turned more tough and complicated. He was weak in arithmetic, though he was good in geography and history and could also recollect villains and heroes and warriors.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Narayan – His Mentor[/b][br /]
[br /]
The lesser known fact is that, at that point of time no one knew that among his brothers was a great Indian writer in English in the making, R K Narayan. He did not bother much about Laxman’s academic problems. He turned his attention to Laxman’s personal appearance and habits as trimming hair or applying little oil and combing, helping him give up biting his nails and his habit of wiping his hands, mouth and face with his shirt. It was Narayan, who was a mentor to Laxman and kept a watch on him when he climbed trees, learnt to ride a bicycle or played cricket. Narayan also wrote a story on him, Dodu, the Money Maker, inspired by Laxman’s activities. This story won him an award in a literary competition sponsored by a magazine in Madras.[br /]
[br /]
[b]His Inspiration[/b][br /]
[br /]
Laxman said: "I looked upon the business of sitting daily in a classroom for hours, to study, learn and face examinations, as an unavoidable family and social obligation. But I believed drawing and sketching were vital commitments to my whole future life." One day, by accident he saw a cartoon in the Hindu. He studied it and it held his attention for a long time. He looked at the name of the artist at the bottom of the cartoon, which read ‘cow’. Then onwards he used to look for the ‘cow’ cartoons that appeared in the Hindu. He spent hours gazing at the drawing and observing it – the gentle caricature of faces, the effortless flow of lines, the perspective, the drapery – a masterpiece of visual satire. He became an avid follower of this illustrator’s work. Much later he learnt that his name was not ‘cow’ but ‘Low’ – the world-renowned illustrator, Sir David Low. Low was an immigrant from New Zealand settled in London working for the Evening Standard as its political cartoonist.[br /]
[br /]
Laxman had a chance to meet the person who inspired him a few years later. After five years with the Times of India as its political cartoonist, one day in 1952 when Laxman came to his desk he saw a couple sitting in the chairs opposite to his desk waiting for him. They were Mr and Mrs David Low. They were in Mumbai for a few hours. Laxman took the couple on a sight seeing trip, which concluded with a view from the Malabar Hill.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The most loved Indian cartoonist, Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Laxman was born in 1927 in a well-to-do Kannada family in Mysore. His father was a headmaster in a school. He was known for being a hard taskmaster. Laxman was the youngest among six brothers. Laxman’s father nicknamed him ‘The Tiger’, for his temperament had to retain his calm at this juncture.[br /]
[br /]
His mother was quite opposite to his father in nature. She was a good tennis player as well as proficient in
bridge and a champion in chess. She used to attend the Maharani Ladies Club. Laxman was comfortable at home in his mother’s absence, as he was habituated, but at night he wanted to be with her.[br /]
[br /]
He was never admitted to any school past his age. This boy was still on playing grounds, while boys of his age were busy rhyming poems in the classroom. Meanwhile, his uncle Chikkannayappa, from Madras, visited their place and discovered the fact and Laxman was admitted at a nearby municipal primary school. To everyone’s surprise, Laxman followed his uncle back home on the very first day with tears in his eyes. His Mother was shocked to see the tears in the eyes of her little angel, cancelled the word ‘school’ from his life which gradually happened to be a boon in disguise.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Growing up ![/b][br /]
[br /]
He had a passion for sketching since childhood. He used to draw street scenes, people and landscapes. As a child he used to collect bicycle chains, hubcaps from a car, deflated footballs, a home-made cricket bat, tennis balls, empty chocolate boxes etc. One day he found three broken glass panes : in red, blue and green, offering him a world of magic – turning the landscape into different colors; an entire garden, trees, flowers, the gardener etc. drenched in green. Then transform the landscape from one color to another. He used to gather his father’s magazines and got lost looking in large illustrations. His favorite magazine was Strand. He also read Bystander, Wide World, Tit Bits and Punch. He used to read jokes under the cartoons, which developed his visualization and sense of humor, knowing improper society or human anatomy without being conscious of what it was.[br /]
[br /]
One day, impressed by one of the cartoons from Punch, Laxman sat down with a paper and pencil to copy it. Noticing this, one of his brothers remarked, "Copying? Never. Look around, observe and sketch! You will never be an artist if you copy. It is like eating the leftovers from somebody’s plate." Thereafter, Laxman never dared to copy anything. Those were his happy days, but they ended within a few months.[br /]
[br /]
[b]The Little Artist at School[/b][br /]
[br /]
Chikkannayappa repeatedly failed in BA English exam and came to his brother Narayan for tuition. Sometimes he played with Laxman, when his brother was busy doing something else. One such day, while playing, he looked at the watch and inquired Laxman about his going to school. Laxman refused and this time he took Laxman to the municipal primary school again. The headmaster recognized him, re-admitted and prevented him from running after Chikkannayappa.[br /]
[br /]
That day onwards, Laxman attended his classes regularly. He insisted on going to school, even on Sundays. His teacher, often left the class to the monitor to smoke a beedi.[br /]
[br /]
One day the teacher left the room assigning them to draw a leaf, of any kind. The class was excited. The students put their creative juices to the ‘leaf task’ given by their teacher. Every one was full of imagination. On entering the class, the teacher had a look at each picture. Then came Laxman’s turn and the teacher stared at his picture for long and asked if it was his own work. Laxman was aghast with fear. Slowly he replied that it was his. Holding the slate up in the class, the teacher announced: "Attention! Look how nicely Laxman has drawn the leaf!" Then he told Laxman: "You will be an artist one day. Keep it up." He gave Laxman full credit. The teacher was impressed by the perfect shape of his Peepal leaf with the veins branching out along the midriff.[br /]
[br /]
Laxman was inspired by this unexpected encouragement. He started to visualize himself as an artist. It was common to see his drawings on the floors, walls and doors of his house. Once he saw his father sitting in a chair and reading newspaper. He looked like a Roman senator stood out clearly and the fringe of gray hair circling his bald head like a wreath added to his imposing appearance. Laxman sketched his father on the floor with a chalk. His mother, who was passing by, recognized the caricature. With a laugh, she invited his father to have a look at it. His father got furious and asked to wipe it off immediately. The mother insisted that it should remain till others came home and had a look at it. The caricature remained on the floor for a long time till it faded and disappeared in the course of time.[br /]
[br /]
With the passing of each year, the school lost its charm. Lessons turned more tough and complicated. He was weak in arithmetic, though he was good in geography and history and could also recollect villains and heroes and warriors.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Narayan – His Mentor[/b][br /]
[br /]
The lesser known fact is that, at that point of time no one knew that among his brothers was a great Indian writer in English in the making, R K Narayan. He did not bother much about Laxman’s academic problems. He turned his attention to Laxman’s personal appearance and habits as trimming hair or applying little oil and combing, helping him give up biting his nails and his habit of wiping his hands, mouth and face with his shirt. It was Narayan, who was a mentor to Laxman and kept a watch on him when he climbed trees, learnt to ride a bicycle or played cricket. Narayan also wrote a story on him, Dodu, the Money Maker, inspired by Laxman’s activities. This story won him an award in a literary competition sponsored by a magazine in Madras.[br /]
[br /]
[b]His Inspiration[/b][br /]
[br /]
Laxman said: "I looked upon the business of sitting daily in a classroom for hours, to study, learn and face examinations, as an unavoidable family and social obligation. But I believed drawing and sketching were vital commitments to my whole future life." One day, by accident he saw a cartoon in the Hindu. He studied it and it held his attention for a long time. He looked at the name of the artist at the bottom of the cartoon, which read ‘cow’. Then onwards he used to look for the ‘cow’ cartoons that appeared in the Hindu. He spent hours gazing at the drawing and observing it – the gentle caricature of faces, the effortless flow of lines, the perspective, the drapery – a masterpiece of visual satire. He became an avid follower of this illustrator’s work. Much later he learnt that his name was not ‘cow’ but ‘Low’ – the world-renowned illustrator, Sir David Low. Low was an immigrant from New Zealand settled in London working for the Evening Standard as its political cartoonist.[br /]
[br /]
Laxman had a chance to meet the person who inspired him a few years later. After five years with the Times of India as its political cartoonist, one day in 1952 when Laxman came to his desk he saw a couple sitting in the chairs opposite to his desk waiting for him. They were Mr and Mrs David Low. They were in Mumbai for a few hours. Laxman took the couple on a sight seeing trip, which concluded with a view from the Malabar Hill.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]R. K. Laxman[/b][br /]
[br /]
R K Laxman, a man blessed with a unique sense of satire is the most loved cartoonist in India whose popularity has traveled to several other countries. His common man cartoons and his punchlines have covered every aspect of social and political life, for over five decades. Of his anecdotes, the most uncanny adventures of his common man generated great interest among gamblers who saw lucky numbers concealed in his cartoons.[br /]
[br /]
Eager to find contradictions that make life unpredictable and reveling in absurd juxtapositions, he embellishes his canvas with a keen sense of humor and an ability to take a whimsical, cock-eyed look at anything under the sun. He is a gifted storyteller who pulls the reader on an enchanting, comical journey down the corridors of time.[br /]
[br /]
He is not merely a cartoonist, but also a profound thinker, a social reformer, a political scientist, a critic of errant politicians and so on. Besides provoking laughter, his cartoons have a mystic appeal to a section of the public.[br /]
[br /]
The Government of India awarded him the prestigious Padma Bhushan. The University of Marathawada conferred an honorary Doctor of Literature degree on him. He has won several awards in his lifetime, including Asia’s top journalism award and the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1984. R. K. Laxman lives in Mumbai.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
R K Laxman, a man blessed with a unique sense of satire is the most loved cartoonist in India whose popularity has traveled to several other countries. His common man cartoons and his punchlines have covered every aspect of social and political life, for over five decades. Of his anecdotes, the most uncanny adventures of his common man generated great interest among gamblers who saw lucky numbers concealed in his cartoons.[br /]
[br /]
Eager to find contradictions that make life unpredictable and reveling in absurd juxtapositions, he embellishes his canvas with a keen sense of humor and an ability to take a whimsical, cock-eyed look at anything under the sun. He is a gifted storyteller who pulls the reader on an enchanting, comical journey down the corridors of time.[br /]
[br /]
He is not merely a cartoonist, but also a profound thinker, a social reformer, a political scientist, a critic of errant politicians and so on. Besides provoking laughter, his cartoons have a mystic appeal to a section of the public.[br /]
[br /]
The Government of India awarded him the prestigious Padma Bhushan. The University of Marathawada conferred an honorary Doctor of Literature degree on him. He has won several awards in his lifetime, including Asia’s top journalism award and the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1984. R. K. Laxman lives in Mumbai.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]The Pal Within[/b][br /]
[br /]
Laxman suffered emotionally as a young child when his best friend Hari Kishen (H K) disillusioned him by his unexpected odd behavior. Laxman and H K grew up together, right up to their college life. Laxman was the captain of his cricket team of the Rough and Tough and Jolly team, while HK was the vice-captain. Their interests and opinions usually coincided on all matters, as there was no tension or misunderstanding. Suddenly, HK, his soul mate, began to act in a strange manner. He ignored the Rough and Tough and Jolly team on field at the weekend matches.[br /]
[br /]
Later on, Laxman learnt that HK was cycling around the streets of Mysore with a chap called Sheriff. This really broke Laxman’s heart, seeing a trusted friend betray him for no apparent reason. Disillusionment and frustration took over him and he felt solitary, companionless. One fine day he went looking for HK and found him on the Kukanhalikene Tank Bund, a favorite spot for walks and contemplation, in the company of Sheriff. Laxman joined without any grudges. Actually nothing had happened. Then onwards they went along for jaunts and formed a happy trio.[br /]
[br /]
But soon his good days ended when his father had a paralytic stroke in the car while returning home. His father died of a brain hemorrhage. It took his household some time to adjust to the absence of his father, who was at that time the only breadwinner. He left behind no debts or liabilities, nor did he bequeath them any property.[br /]
[br /]
After some time he had to select a special subject at school: botany, chemistry etc. including drawing and painting. He selected drawing and painting as a subject of specialization. General classes contained about 50 students, whereas drawing class, which met twice a week had only five to six students. During these days, drawing and painting was looked upon something fit only for predetermined high school dropouts. It was now that he came in contact with some professional painters of repute in Mysore.[br /]
[br /]
Meanwhile, the Maharaja of Mysore ordered an enormous mural for his palace, on the famous subject of Dussehra procession. The painting should depict the entire scene from the arched gates of the palace from where the procession started to the termination point called Banni Mantap, about 10 miles away. The Maharaja was to be shown sitting on the caparisoned royal elephants,followed by carriages, important officials on horseback, cavalry regiments, a camel brigade and foot soldiers, besides the general crowd watching from rooftops, windows and balconies. All the artists of the town were appointed for this mammoth job. An old palace fully equipped with stretched canvases, paints and brushes was allotted as the studio for this project. Luckily, Laxman was a regular visitor to this place and enjoyed the company of the artists..[br /]
[br /]
[b]Popularity at an Early Age[/b][br /]
[br /]
One fine day his Kannada teacher asked him to call on a Kannada writer who also knew his family very well. The writer already knew Laxman as the illustrator of Narayan’s short stories in the Hindu. He had also seen the special issue of the college magazine containing quite a few of Laxman’s cartoons. The cover of the issue prepared by him was of a melting candle shedding brilliant light on an open tome resting below it. The editors were so pleased with his drawings that they paid him a modest honorarium, appreciated him in the editorial with samples of his work with the caption ‘Our Artist.’[br /]
[br /]
The Kannada writer wanted Laxman to contribute cartoons to a new humorous monthly, Koravanji to be published from Bangalore. He sketched a vivacious looking damsel in the pose of a folk dancer. Meanwhile, during World War II, the shortage of essential commodities yielded rich material for his cartoons. The publication also contained good reading material written by competent authors. The magazine quickly picked up circulation and became a talking point among public. Laxman also became popular alongwith Koravanji. One day a police inspector caught him on his bicycle for not renewing his vehicle license, the renewal date had lapsed some months before. The inspector, having learnt that he was Laxman of Koravanji allowed him to go.[br /]
[br /]
There was an art gallery in the Dussehra exhibition, where eminent painters from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Hyderabad and Bengal participated and displayed their paintings.[br /]
[br /]
A panel of experts judged the paintings. Gold and silver medals, as well as cash prizes and certificates of merit were awarded to the best work. Laxman was impressed by the techniques these artists used. The following year he prepared caricatures of some prominent personalities including Sir Mirza Ismile, and the Dewan of Mysore.[br /]
[br /]
Along with these satirical sketches he also included a few color cartoons – people bargaining with vegetable sellers in the market place, a gypsy with a monkey, a little girl crying over a broken pot of milk, a beggar playing on a violin made from coconut shell and so on. Along with these, he also submitted a dozen pencil drawings showing his nephew in a series of moods as playing with a ball, running, eating, sleeping, crying and so on. The selection board was very strict and Laxman was apprehensive on his being selected. He was surprised when his works were displayed along with the veteran artists. The sketches of his little nephew in action – Glimpses of Thumbi, bagged a cash prize for Laxman.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Failure at School[/b][br /]
[br /]
Laxman continued with his routine of sketching, preparing cartoons for a few periodicals and illustrating Narayan’s short stories for the Hindu. Laxman was confident of passing and surprisingly fared well in most of the subjects, including science and arithmetic in which he was particularly weak, except Kannada where he failed by five marks. This was sufficient to disqualify him from entering the intermediate college. He was declared eligible for any public service, which meant he could apply for a clerical post in a government office. He disbelieved his failure. The thought that H K, his bosom friend would secure an entry into the intermediate college sans him was painful. He finally broke down and cried unabashedly in front of everyone. Consolations came in from all his near and dear ones but Narayan’s words were the most comforting. He proudly admitted his failure in English in the entrance examination and how he had survived the blow and became an outstanding novelist of the English language. Laxman became philosophical and began to think in terms of constructive, practical ways to face the future. He decided to approach Narayanappa, a BA student and a scholar in Kannada. He was very poor and so lived in an orphanage and used to visit Laxman’s family once a week for his mid-day meal or dinner.[br /]
[br /]
He realized the futility of the college degrees and wanted to take a diploma in Fine Arts rather. A brief talk with HK and Laxman resulted in decision to enroll at the J J School of Arts, Mumbai. His mother thought it necessary for all his family members to be graduated, and therefore it was difficult for him to be a high school dropout. He took Narayan into confidence and his mother was also convinced. He submitted his numerous sketches to the dean of the J J School of Arts. He expected a positive response from the school and calculated six days to get response, but after two weeks he received a letter saying that he lacked, "the kind of talent to qualify for enrolment in our institution as a student. I earnestly advise you to continue your studies further."[br /]
[br /]
Within a few days he settled down to prepare for his Kannada examination with the help of Narayanappa. Laxman graduated from high school.[br /]
[br /]
[b]It's All In Family[/b][br /]
[br /]
During his tenure as a final year student in college, Laxman always sat on the last bench, drawing sketches of the lecturers. One fine day in the classroom, during a sleep-inducing lecture on Money and Banking, he suddenly woke to the initials RKP inscribed on the bench followed by RKN, RKS, RKB and RKR. All his brothers at various stages of their passage through the portals of Maharaja’s College had discovered this part of the desk and left their names. Laxman added RKL below the last one and completed the genealogy.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Irony He Experienced[/b][br /]
[br /]
After a few years he came to Mumbai and joined the Times of India as its political cartoonist. Ironically his office was situated next to the J J School of Arts, which he could see through his window. His cartoons appeared on the front page of the newspaper as a regular feature and people began to appreciate his satirical comments on the political events of the day.[br /]
[br /]
Out of the blue he received a call letter from the dean of the J J School of Arts. Laxman’s works were appreciated and he was asked to be a chief guest at an event to award the winners of an annual exhibition of paintings. Laxman gladly accepted the honor and on the day of function the dean formally exhorted him to the auditorium. The hall was packed with students and teachers. The dean paid glorious tributes to Laxman as a graphic satirist, praised the quality of his craftsmanship, the masterly strokes of his cartoons, the power of caricatures and so on.[br /]
[br /]
Laxman was overwhelmed by the irony of the situation. The occasion could not be more ridiculous and laughable. Before a few years the dean had seen no talent in Laxman and had rejected his application for admission to the institution, while on the present day he was being treated as an honored guest and glorious tributes were being paid to his work. He made a brief speech, which was irresistibly sarcastic, caddish, embarrassing to the dean and his staff. He said, "I am grateful to the dean who had administered the J J School years ago for rejecting my application. If I had been accepted and had I graduated clutching a diploma in arts, perhaps I would not have been the cartoonist that I had become. I would have most likely been languishing in some corner of an advertising agency, drawing visuals for mosquito repellants or pretty faces for ladies’ cosmetics, or chubby babies to promote vitamin foods, perhaps bearing the name ‘Crunchy, munchy Vita biscuits."[br /]
[br /]
He passed from the junior to senior intermediate without any difficulty. Once he leaned at a large mirror against the wall, sat in front of it and drew a portrait of himself with minute details, shading it – in order to give it depth and texture. One day, he added a moustache and went further, added a beard and also kumkum on his forehead. He thought he looked like a sadhu in that sketch. He then tucked it away among his other sketches and forgot it.[br /]
[br /]
When Mahatma Gandhi gave the ‘Quit India’ call, Laxman was fighting a battle of his own for survival, having caught a virulent infection. HK was arrested and put in jail. Laxman was bedridden for quite sometime, without a shave, or a haircut. When he started to move around in the house, he found a portrait of a bearded man with long untrimmed hair and large kumkum on his forehead. The self-portrait that he playfully disfigured months ago turned out to resemble him as he looked at that very moment. It was a prophetic self-portrait, an intimation of his appearance foretold consequent on his near fatal illness. The only redeeming factor that emerged from his turbulent period was that his friend HK had lost a year fighting for freedom, and he was able to catch up with him.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Offer for a Cartoon Film[/b][br /]
[br /]
Offers came pouring in and Laxman was offered a salary of Rs 250 a month for assisting in the making of a cartoon film for a distributor in Madras. The film was based on the mythological character Naradmuni, with a Veena always in his hand. Laxman was shown a few specimen drawings of the main character. There was no attempt at stylizing of human form as one found in Disney’s creations; humans were sketched in normal anatomical proportions.[br /]
[br /]
Here, Laxman was appointed as the key drawing artist and he should stick to that. These thoughts helped him control his impatience and he listened attentively to the director as he narrated the story. It was difficult for Laxman to spend three months in the company of such people whose sense of humor was so outraged. There were 24 drawings per second and the sequence of the fall from the steps would last about 40 seconds. That meant that would take around 1,000 sketches for a single episode of Narada. The film, developed and ready, was a disappointment, as it seemed an anticlimax beyond redemption.[br /]
[br /]
After that he prepared cartoons for Swarajya, a monthly which paid him Rs 50 per cartoon. Here he contributed two cartoons and collected a hundred rupees.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Laxman – the ‘no–lucks’ man[/b][br /]
[br /]
Laxman then left for Madras and planned to join a newspaper office. He felt himself too timid to approach the Hindu as Mr David Low was already there. He then went to the Indian Express. He showed an elderly man some clippings of published cartoons. The senior man went through his cartoons and said that Express had no opening for a political cartoonist. The only idea that struck his mind was to go to Delhi.[br /]
[br /]
The younger of his two elder sisters lived in Delhi. His sister and brother-in-law often used to throw cocktail parties, where his brother-in-law introduced him to the editor of the Hindustan Times. They already had a veteran staff cartoonist who had been with them for years. He was not much talked about person, but asked Laxman to work for few years in a provincial newspaper and then to try in the capital.[br /]
[br /]
Next in the line was a meeting with an editor of the Indian Express. The senior editor, who was drunk, asked him silly questions like "Why do you want to be a cartoonist? What is so great about it? Why not take up some other job?" Years later, Laxman also received an award by Express Group of papers, B.D. Goenka Award consisting of a lakh of rupees and a citation for his professional excellence. He was also honored with the Durge Ratan Gold Medal, an award given in the memory of the editor of the Hindustan Times who treated him kindly when he met him but was regretfully unable to accommodate him in his paper. He then left for Mumbai where he knew only a sub-editor in the Bombay Chronicle.[br /]
[br /]
A friend in Mumbai introduced him to the editor of Blitz, which had a good circulation. The editor wanted a pictorial, brief narration of a murder story to run as a serial each week. He offered Laxman Rs 1,000 per month. One day while he was returning home, his friend showed him the office of the Free Press Journal. He met the editor, talked about himself and also joined the paper as a political cartoonist. He used to sit bent over his drawing board for nearly ten hours a day. Here he had a chance to work with a political party supremo, then the cartoonist Bal Thackeray, who was preoccupied with the idea of saving Maharashtra, in its pristine glory, language and culture. After some time he left Free Press Journal because of disputes with its proprietor. Meanwhile, he suffered the shock of the news of passing away of his friend HK.[br /]
[br /]
Then he joined the Times of India beginning with preparing illustrations for[br /]
[br /]
Illustrated Weekly and comic strips[br /]
[br /]
for children’s magazine Junior. He expected a salary of Rs 350 but was offered Rs 500. He also created a comic strip called Gutta-Percha for the Junior magazine.[br /]
[br /]
At the Times of India Professor Walter Langhammar had arranged with the neighboring J J School of Arts to supply models for life classes once a week for them to improve their skills to break the monotony of work. Few days later, a well-polished table was brought into the department and put in a corner. He uses the same table till date.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Seed of His novel - The Hotel Riviera[/b][br /]
[br /]
Tired of living as a paying guest in Mumbai, he shifted to Hotel Mirabai. Staying here was a fascinating experience. He gathered enough material here for a novel The Novel Riviera, which he wrote later. He led a trouble-free and interesting life at the Times of India.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Desire to Sketch Political Cartoons[/b][br /]
[br /]
One day he boldly walked into the editor’s ante-room and asked for the editor’s permission to see him. The editor was a British Army officer, who said that Laxman was not matured enough to take on the role of a political cartoonist for the Times, but agreed to that Laxman could draw political cartoons not for publication but just for the editor to view. Sometimes he merely smiled at them, or granted ‘jolly good’ or at times asked Laxman to explain the satire. Occasionally he laughed and called the assistant editors next door to share the provocation in the cartoon. One morning the editor asked for Laxman’s cartoon about the Berlin blockade. It appeared in the Evening News of India. Then onwards he contributed for the Evening News. After a few more weeks, the editor called for a cartoon done by him on the World Bank’s niggardly loan to India. It appeared in the Times of India on the front page. Then began his thrice a week tenure with the Times, with a panel of three cartoons on Sunday. This became a routine for the past half century.[br /]
[br /]
He was then shifted from the art to the editorial department, with the designation of Chief Political Cartoonist of the Times of India. He continued to illustrate stories and articles for the Weekly, but now as a freelance contributor. He also started a feature called Personalities, in which he did full page color caricatures of prominent leaders in various walks of life. Besides doing cartoons for the Times he had taken on a lot of commissions, as illustrating his brother’s books, short stories and articles. He also did promotional drawings for commercial products for an advertising agency. He organized exhibition of his cartoons and caricatures. He used to fly to Delhi frequently on official visits to meet political leaders, and sat in Parliament’s press gallery to study features and mannerisms of political stalwarts.[br /]
[br /]
Settled in professional life, Laxman married his niece, Kamala. He had a son Shrinivas, who works for Times as an aviation correspondent. Laxman also has a grand daughter called Mahalaxmi.[br /]
[br /]
The Times of India had a separate edition in Delhi. Laxman started a special series called This is Delhi poking fun at the local personalities. Laxman never used Gods, demons or folk tales to illustrate any political events, nor did he make politicians look like cows or donkeys or convert a male with fierce moustache into a coy, saree-clad woman. He dealt with satirical concepts strictly on everyday life. He followed standard rules of perspective, drapery and anatomy. He swiftly sketched his idea in pencil, inked it, wrote the caption and added final details.[br /]
[br /]
He always avoided meeting politicians in his professional life. When a politician congratulated him on his cartoon of the day and thumped on his back saying that he was a genius, he concluded that he had just seen a nasty cartoon of his political enemy in the opposition or of his own party. If a politician pumped his hand with warmth and generous admiration for a cartoon in which he had ridiculed him, he was bland to start quietly telling him in a round about way that he lacked political judgment, and ended up teaching him how to draw cartoons.[br /]
[br /]
He visited London to draw caricatures of David Low, Graham Greene, Bertrand Russell, J B Priestly and T S Eliot. During his stay at Yorkshire, he prepared caricatures of Atlee, Bevan Gaitskell, Wilson, Morrison and many others.[br /]
[br /]
He believed that the image of a person that occurs in one’s memory is of great help. The prominence of rather large nose or a pair of luxuriant bushy eyebrows or a shiny bald pate or a double chin seems important in reality for caricature. But a face appears in one’s memory without light or shade or physical distance in shape. This is what is required to understand the essence of a personality. [br /]
[br /]
The nightmare of a political cartoonist is the deadline, which haunts every newspaper office.
He has to read the papers, analyze events, wait for his satirical idea to dawn, complete the cartoon and meet the deadline so that his efforts appear in the morning edition. After returning from his tour, he thought of preparing political cartoons on the Common Man in various situations, appearing every day. They planned a feature on the front page of the paper with the title of ‘You Said It’. This plan could not shape up because of an offer from Evening Standard, London who wanted Laxman to join as David Low, who was earlier working there, had to move to the Daily Mail. Laxman was in the dilemma to leave India but after a few days, he received a letter from Evening Standard saying that it was difficult for them to continue negotiations and had to withdraw their proposal.[br /]
He had the privilege to work with great gusto, freed from ministers and bureaucrats.[br /]
[br /]
He had an admirer of his cartoons who used to send him three rupees by money order, apologizing that he was poor and could not afford more. That was a token gesture he made wherever he found a cartoon worthy of his appreciation.[br /]
[br /]
He had the privilege to work with great gusto, freed from ministers and bureaucrats. He had an admirer of his cartoons who used to send him three rupees by money order, apologizing that he was poor and could not afford more. That was a token gesture he made wherever he found a cartoon worthy of his appreciation. Laxman, moved by the poor man’s generosity, sent him a set of You Said It volumes with compliments. There was a Christian admirer who wanted Laxman to design the marble headstone for his wife’s grave, as she was a great admirer of Laxman.[br /]
[br /]
[b]A Challenge For Him[/b][br /]
[br /]
After the sudden and tragic assassination of Mrs Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi became the Prime Minister of India. It was a difficult subject as Rajiv was tall, young and handsome. There was nothing in his physical features that one could capture, exaggerate and exploit. Nehru had a wonderful bald pate, which he took the liberty of exposing, removing the Gandhi cap, which he always wore. Mrs Gandhi was also a great personality, but the wisp of lightning – like white hair she sported and the beak-like curve of her nose served a cartoonist’s purpose.
[br /]
[br /]
Apart from a challenge to a caricaturist, Rajiv Gandhi had ideas that were lofty, progressive and of scientific temper. He wanted to take the country to a utopia located in the 21st century. Rajiv, a leader devoid of any human idiosyncrasies, was a challenge to Laxman. With the star actors, dancers, celebrities and sportsmen, Congress candidates for Lok Sabha could gather plenty of ideas from Rajiv’s style of functioning. Laxman made him look a little more rotund than he really was, shortened his nose and tilted it slightly upward, thickened his eyebrows and reduced the hair on his pate, making him nearly bald. Shortly, people started to remark that Rajiv, resembled Laxman’s cartoon version, losing his original God-given good look.[br /]
[br /]
A coffee-table book, The Eloquent Brush: A Selection of Cartoons from Nehru to Rajiv was published by the Times of India to commemorate its 150th year of its publication. Rajiv Gandhi formally released the book.[br /]
[br /]
Laxman had a habit to put his legs up on the table and scoured each page, mulled over possible ideas, pondering, contemplating, rejecting and choosing. After deciding a subject, he weighed its potential relevance in the next day paper, visualizing its graphic possibilities. He mentally formulated the entire cartoon down to the carved legs of the furniture. Laxman’s self-centered characters were caught unawares of being ridiculed with a Punch Line. All this demanded over four hours of intense concentration and mental workouts.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Fascination For Crows[/b][br /]
[br /]
Laxman loved crows as his subjects. Even as a child he had watched them for hours, sketched them in various poses. They had a color, which stood out boldly against any background. As he grew he realized that crows had a temperament close to that of humans – clever, cunning, and cautious. One could spot them any time of the day and draw in all sort of postures and moods - on tree branches, near the garden tap, on the window sill, perching on TV antennae and rooftops, and in flight across the blue sky. Laxman held his exhibition on ‘crows’ in Madras and Mumbai, which had 21 pictures.[br /]
[br /]
A few years later he held a similar crow exhibition. In the second exhibition, he presented only 10 crows along with 12 paintings of Ganapati. He drew the crow one after another in various postures – on branches of trees, sitting on the edge of an earthen pot, in flight, in flocks and perched on TV cables. He wrote short stories and travelogues and edited another collection of You Said It cartoons.[br /]
[br /]
For his professional excellence he was honored with the prestigious Magsaysay International Award, but unfortunately his wife was not present to share the joy as she was on a tour to Europe and America with some of her friends. As soon as Kamala came they were to leave for Philippines. Kamala didn’t know that Laxman was to be awarded. The immigration officials, upon seeing her passport, asked her if she was the wife of the cartoonist who had won the award. She requested the official for the use of the phone call. She confirmed good news and said that she would be home after her baggage was cleared. She lost her luggage somewhere at Kennedy airport in New York or at Heathrow in London. The luggage contained a lot of gifts for friends and relatives, apart from her own personal items. But the sense of loss was soon forgotten because of the thrill of their immediate departure for the Philippines to collect his fabulous award.[br /]
[br /]
When they landed at Manila and taxied towards the ram, they met winners from various parts of Asia as Japan, India, Indonesia etc.[br /]
[br /]
Two ladies walked upto him with bright smiles, "Probably you don’t recognize us", one of them said. Laxman could then recall of a morning in the Times of India office nearly a year ago, when two women journalists touring India at that time called on him. He introduced his wife with those women as "journalist from the Philippines who had called on him in Mumbai". One of them interrupted him saying that they were no journalists but officials of the Magsaysay Foundation. As Laxman had been tentatively selected for the award, they were sent to India under the guise of journalists to assess Laxman’s worthiness to receive the honor. This mission had taken them to Bangalore, where they called on some of Laxman’s old friends and college professors to find out more about Laxman, engaging them in seemingly casual conversation. When they were in Mumbai, they visited the bookshops to collect You Said It books, and chatted with the proprietors to extract more information about the author. Similar teams had been sent to Japan to research the background of an engineer, a priest in Sri Lanka, a professor in Indonesia or an economist in Bangladesh.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Caught At A Wrong Hour[/b][br /]
[br /]
He was in Calcutta, when refugees were pouring into East Bengal across the border. A reporter from Calcutta office accompanied him to the sites. They drove in silence, the car moved on and they talked about the political implications of the situation and the imminent threat of war between India and Pakistan. There were glimpses of soldiers encampments in open fields, army trucks, jeeps and guns. A man crossing the Jessore road leading to Pakistan was sighted, who took up position in the middle of the road, facing the car. He was a soldier in battle dress, aiming his rifle at Laxman. He ordered Laxman to get out of the vehicle, and menacingly directed them to walk to a hut in the middle of a rice field. He asked several questions, and Laxman was happy when he came to know that he was a soldier from India and not Pakistan. Laxman tried to come out safely saying that he was a journalist from Mumbai. The soldier shouted back at Laxman telling him that had he driven for another five minutes, he would have entered the enemy territory, handcuffed and shot. After sometime they were set free and asked to drive back.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Visual Music In China[/b][br /]
[br /]
During his tour to China, Laxman had an unforgettable experience watching a master of calligraphy demonstrate his superb skills. A cartoonist association had arranged for a demonstration in his hotel in Beijing. When all were ready to see the demonstration, he took out of his bag a large brush and a palette to mix the black paint in. He rolled a white sheet of rice paper on the table, studied the paper with piercing eyes, holding the brush poised to attack the white sheet. He took a couple of steps back, stood still, then suddenly lunged forward, dipped the brush in the pool of black paint in the palette, and quickly made a deep black stroke at the top of the paper all at a stretch. Once again he stood back smiling, and his silence gave way to appreciative laughter. Then again he suddenly moved, dipped the brush in the ink and without a pause rapidly moved the brush crisscross over the paper as if to silent music that only he could hear.[br /]
[br /]
It ultimately communicated that his brush journeyed leaving in its wake the most enchanting pattern of Chinese characters. Laxman noted that he had dribbled the ink from the brush in certain places on the paper, while barely touching certain other parts. He had slashed some areas with few bold strokes. On the whole it could be concluded as visual music. Finally he rolled the paper up neatly, tied it with a silk ribbon and presented it to Laxman. They said, "A warm welcome to China, comrade Laxman". Now Laxman too wanted to give something in return, expressing his gratitude to the artist and the association.[br /]
[br /]
Laxman took out a roll of rice paper, spread it on the table just as he had and imitated his stance, took a few steps backwards, much to the amusement of the gathering. He held the brush aloft dipped in the ink and moved it swiftly over the paper writing the message, he heartily thanked the cartoonists association for their warm welcome. He wrote in English script in mock-Chinese style vertically, then he drew his Common Man with his checked coat and famous bewildered look.[br /]
[br /]
Cartoons of the kind one sees in magazines and columns devoted to provoke a smile need less exacting concentration. For instance, funny situations arising out of helpless parents dealing with a naughty boy, or the driver of a speeding car caught by the police, or a fat lady trying to lose weight, or humor arising from doctor-patient relations, bungling players on the golf course, situations in cocktail parties etc. For him it was nerve-wracking to read the same news, assimilate, analyze and create a cartoon with fresh brilliance with each coming day. The insatiable appetite of the public to enjoy denigrating and pillorying its leaders in several variations, even if the situation happened to be the same, it could save the cartoonist. [br /]
[br /]
[b]Making of You Said It[/b][br /]
[br /]
A documentary filmmaker had a bright idea on browsing through the volumes of You Said It, that a movie could be made out of Laxman’s cartoons. Earlier Laxman recoiled and rejected, but the idea of creating a film version of You Said It cartoons fascinated him. He himself was involved in producing the episodes. The two dozen episodes Laxman churned out for the producer were just trivial daily incidents in anyone’s life as admitting a boy to school, taps suddenly running dry in the bathrooms, a distant relative suddenly arriving as a guest or hiring a new servant etc. The film was shown on Doordarshan and was a great success.[br /]
[br /]
Laxman enjoyed the working condition in the Times of India. The proprietors and all his colleagues ungrudgingly accorded him the freedom he needed as a cartoonist. They never refused a request Laxman made regarding his travels abroad or locally, or in any matter concerning his professional needs.[br /]
[br /]
[b]The Grandpa Laxman[/b][br /]
[br /]
Nowadays the relaxing Laxman loves to watch his grand daughter grow. She fascinates him. He wonders how he had ever been able to live all these years without her presence in his house. Mahalaxmi Kutila, Baby, Ram, Papu, Ramanika, Sweety, Doll, so on, are constantly in his thoughts, regardless of where he is or what he is doing. Observing her from a corner provided Laxman with all the entertainment and companionship he needed at this age. With her presence, he has a mysterious sense of being reborn.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Laxman suffered emotionally as a young child when his best friend Hari Kishen (H K) disillusioned him by his unexpected odd behavior. Laxman and H K grew up together, right up to their college life. Laxman was the captain of his cricket team of the Rough and Tough and Jolly team, while HK was the vice-captain. Their interests and opinions usually coincided on all matters, as there was no tension or misunderstanding. Suddenly, HK, his soul mate, began to act in a strange manner. He ignored the Rough and Tough and Jolly team on field at the weekend matches.[br /]
[br /]
Later on, Laxman learnt that HK was cycling around the streets of Mysore with a chap called Sheriff. This really broke Laxman’s heart, seeing a trusted friend betray him for no apparent reason. Disillusionment and frustration took over him and he felt solitary, companionless. One fine day he went looking for HK and found him on the Kukanhalikene Tank Bund, a favorite spot for walks and contemplation, in the company of Sheriff. Laxman joined without any grudges. Actually nothing had happened. Then onwards they went along for jaunts and formed a happy trio.[br /]
[br /]
But soon his good days ended when his father had a paralytic stroke in the car while returning home. His father died of a brain hemorrhage. It took his household some time to adjust to the absence of his father, who was at that time the only breadwinner. He left behind no debts or liabilities, nor did he bequeath them any property.[br /]
[br /]
After some time he had to select a special subject at school: botany, chemistry etc. including drawing and painting. He selected drawing and painting as a subject of specialization. General classes contained about 50 students, whereas drawing class, which met twice a week had only five to six students. During these days, drawing and painting was looked upon something fit only for predetermined high school dropouts. It was now that he came in contact with some professional painters of repute in Mysore.[br /]
[br /]
Meanwhile, the Maharaja of Mysore ordered an enormous mural for his palace, on the famous subject of Dussehra procession. The painting should depict the entire scene from the arched gates of the palace from where the procession started to the termination point called Banni Mantap, about 10 miles away. The Maharaja was to be shown sitting on the caparisoned royal elephants,followed by carriages, important officials on horseback, cavalry regiments, a camel brigade and foot soldiers, besides the general crowd watching from rooftops, windows and balconies. All the artists of the town were appointed for this mammoth job. An old palace fully equipped with stretched canvases, paints and brushes was allotted as the studio for this project. Luckily, Laxman was a regular visitor to this place and enjoyed the company of the artists..[br /]
[br /]
[b]Popularity at an Early Age[/b][br /]
[br /]
One fine day his Kannada teacher asked him to call on a Kannada writer who also knew his family very well. The writer already knew Laxman as the illustrator of Narayan’s short stories in the Hindu. He had also seen the special issue of the college magazine containing quite a few of Laxman’s cartoons. The cover of the issue prepared by him was of a melting candle shedding brilliant light on an open tome resting below it. The editors were so pleased with his drawings that they paid him a modest honorarium, appreciated him in the editorial with samples of his work with the caption ‘Our Artist.’[br /]
[br /]
The Kannada writer wanted Laxman to contribute cartoons to a new humorous monthly, Koravanji to be published from Bangalore. He sketched a vivacious looking damsel in the pose of a folk dancer. Meanwhile, during World War II, the shortage of essential commodities yielded rich material for his cartoons. The publication also contained good reading material written by competent authors. The magazine quickly picked up circulation and became a talking point among public. Laxman also became popular alongwith Koravanji. One day a police inspector caught him on his bicycle for not renewing his vehicle license, the renewal date had lapsed some months before. The inspector, having learnt that he was Laxman of Koravanji allowed him to go.[br /]
[br /]
There was an art gallery in the Dussehra exhibition, where eminent painters from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Hyderabad and Bengal participated and displayed their paintings.[br /]
[br /]
A panel of experts judged the paintings. Gold and silver medals, as well as cash prizes and certificates of merit were awarded to the best work. Laxman was impressed by the techniques these artists used. The following year he prepared caricatures of some prominent personalities including Sir Mirza Ismile, and the Dewan of Mysore.[br /]
[br /]
Along with these satirical sketches he also included a few color cartoons – people bargaining with vegetable sellers in the market place, a gypsy with a monkey, a little girl crying over a broken pot of milk, a beggar playing on a violin made from coconut shell and so on. Along with these, he also submitted a dozen pencil drawings showing his nephew in a series of moods as playing with a ball, running, eating, sleeping, crying and so on. The selection board was very strict and Laxman was apprehensive on his being selected. He was surprised when his works were displayed along with the veteran artists. The sketches of his little nephew in action – Glimpses of Thumbi, bagged a cash prize for Laxman.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Failure at School[/b][br /]
[br /]
Laxman continued with his routine of sketching, preparing cartoons for a few periodicals and illustrating Narayan’s short stories for the Hindu. Laxman was confident of passing and surprisingly fared well in most of the subjects, including science and arithmetic in which he was particularly weak, except Kannada where he failed by five marks. This was sufficient to disqualify him from entering the intermediate college. He was declared eligible for any public service, which meant he could apply for a clerical post in a government office. He disbelieved his failure. The thought that H K, his bosom friend would secure an entry into the intermediate college sans him was painful. He finally broke down and cried unabashedly in front of everyone. Consolations came in from all his near and dear ones but Narayan’s words were the most comforting. He proudly admitted his failure in English in the entrance examination and how he had survived the blow and became an outstanding novelist of the English language. Laxman became philosophical and began to think in terms of constructive, practical ways to face the future. He decided to approach Narayanappa, a BA student and a scholar in Kannada. He was very poor and so lived in an orphanage and used to visit Laxman’s family once a week for his mid-day meal or dinner.[br /]
[br /]
He realized the futility of the college degrees and wanted to take a diploma in Fine Arts rather. A brief talk with HK and Laxman resulted in decision to enroll at the J J School of Arts, Mumbai. His mother thought it necessary for all his family members to be graduated, and therefore it was difficult for him to be a high school dropout. He took Narayan into confidence and his mother was also convinced. He submitted his numerous sketches to the dean of the J J School of Arts. He expected a positive response from the school and calculated six days to get response, but after two weeks he received a letter saying that he lacked, "the kind of talent to qualify for enrolment in our institution as a student. I earnestly advise you to continue your studies further."[br /]
[br /]
Within a few days he settled down to prepare for his Kannada examination with the help of Narayanappa. Laxman graduated from high school.[br /]
[br /]
[b]It's All In Family[/b][br /]
[br /]
During his tenure as a final year student in college, Laxman always sat on the last bench, drawing sketches of the lecturers. One fine day in the classroom, during a sleep-inducing lecture on Money and Banking, he suddenly woke to the initials RKP inscribed on the bench followed by RKN, RKS, RKB and RKR. All his brothers at various stages of their passage through the portals of Maharaja’s College had discovered this part of the desk and left their names. Laxman added RKL below the last one and completed the genealogy.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Irony He Experienced[/b][br /]
[br /]
After a few years he came to Mumbai and joined the Times of India as its political cartoonist. Ironically his office was situated next to the J J School of Arts, which he could see through his window. His cartoons appeared on the front page of the newspaper as a regular feature and people began to appreciate his satirical comments on the political events of the day.[br /]
[br /]
Out of the blue he received a call letter from the dean of the J J School of Arts. Laxman’s works were appreciated and he was asked to be a chief guest at an event to award the winners of an annual exhibition of paintings. Laxman gladly accepted the honor and on the day of function the dean formally exhorted him to the auditorium. The hall was packed with students and teachers. The dean paid glorious tributes to Laxman as a graphic satirist, praised the quality of his craftsmanship, the masterly strokes of his cartoons, the power of caricatures and so on.[br /]
[br /]
Laxman was overwhelmed by the irony of the situation. The occasion could not be more ridiculous and laughable. Before a few years the dean had seen no talent in Laxman and had rejected his application for admission to the institution, while on the present day he was being treated as an honored guest and glorious tributes were being paid to his work. He made a brief speech, which was irresistibly sarcastic, caddish, embarrassing to the dean and his staff. He said, "I am grateful to the dean who had administered the J J School years ago for rejecting my application. If I had been accepted and had I graduated clutching a diploma in arts, perhaps I would not have been the cartoonist that I had become. I would have most likely been languishing in some corner of an advertising agency, drawing visuals for mosquito repellants or pretty faces for ladies’ cosmetics, or chubby babies to promote vitamin foods, perhaps bearing the name ‘Crunchy, munchy Vita biscuits."[br /]
[br /]
He passed from the junior to senior intermediate without any difficulty. Once he leaned at a large mirror against the wall, sat in front of it and drew a portrait of himself with minute details, shading it – in order to give it depth and texture. One day, he added a moustache and went further, added a beard and also kumkum on his forehead. He thought he looked like a sadhu in that sketch. He then tucked it away among his other sketches and forgot it.[br /]
[br /]
When Mahatma Gandhi gave the ‘Quit India’ call, Laxman was fighting a battle of his own for survival, having caught a virulent infection. HK was arrested and put in jail. Laxman was bedridden for quite sometime, without a shave, or a haircut. When he started to move around in the house, he found a portrait of a bearded man with long untrimmed hair and large kumkum on his forehead. The self-portrait that he playfully disfigured months ago turned out to resemble him as he looked at that very moment. It was a prophetic self-portrait, an intimation of his appearance foretold consequent on his near fatal illness. The only redeeming factor that emerged from his turbulent period was that his friend HK had lost a year fighting for freedom, and he was able to catch up with him.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Offer for a Cartoon Film[/b][br /]
[br /]
Offers came pouring in and Laxman was offered a salary of Rs 250 a month for assisting in the making of a cartoon film for a distributor in Madras. The film was based on the mythological character Naradmuni, with a Veena always in his hand. Laxman was shown a few specimen drawings of the main character. There was no attempt at stylizing of human form as one found in Disney’s creations; humans were sketched in normal anatomical proportions.[br /]
[br /]
Here, Laxman was appointed as the key drawing artist and he should stick to that. These thoughts helped him control his impatience and he listened attentively to the director as he narrated the story. It was difficult for Laxman to spend three months in the company of such people whose sense of humor was so outraged. There were 24 drawings per second and the sequence of the fall from the steps would last about 40 seconds. That meant that would take around 1,000 sketches for a single episode of Narada. The film, developed and ready, was a disappointment, as it seemed an anticlimax beyond redemption.[br /]
[br /]
After that he prepared cartoons for Swarajya, a monthly which paid him Rs 50 per cartoon. Here he contributed two cartoons and collected a hundred rupees.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Laxman – the ‘no–lucks’ man[/b][br /]
[br /]
Laxman then left for Madras and planned to join a newspaper office. He felt himself too timid to approach the Hindu as Mr David Low was already there. He then went to the Indian Express. He showed an elderly man some clippings of published cartoons. The senior man went through his cartoons and said that Express had no opening for a political cartoonist. The only idea that struck his mind was to go to Delhi.[br /]
[br /]
The younger of his two elder sisters lived in Delhi. His sister and brother-in-law often used to throw cocktail parties, where his brother-in-law introduced him to the editor of the Hindustan Times. They already had a veteran staff cartoonist who had been with them for years. He was not much talked about person, but asked Laxman to work for few years in a provincial newspaper and then to try in the capital.[br /]
[br /]
Next in the line was a meeting with an editor of the Indian Express. The senior editor, who was drunk, asked him silly questions like "Why do you want to be a cartoonist? What is so great about it? Why not take up some other job?" Years later, Laxman also received an award by Express Group of papers, B.D. Goenka Award consisting of a lakh of rupees and a citation for his professional excellence. He was also honored with the Durge Ratan Gold Medal, an award given in the memory of the editor of the Hindustan Times who treated him kindly when he met him but was regretfully unable to accommodate him in his paper. He then left for Mumbai where he knew only a sub-editor in the Bombay Chronicle.[br /]
[br /]
A friend in Mumbai introduced him to the editor of Blitz, which had a good circulation. The editor wanted a pictorial, brief narration of a murder story to run as a serial each week. He offered Laxman Rs 1,000 per month. One day while he was returning home, his friend showed him the office of the Free Press Journal. He met the editor, talked about himself and also joined the paper as a political cartoonist. He used to sit bent over his drawing board for nearly ten hours a day. Here he had a chance to work with a political party supremo, then the cartoonist Bal Thackeray, who was preoccupied with the idea of saving Maharashtra, in its pristine glory, language and culture. After some time he left Free Press Journal because of disputes with its proprietor. Meanwhile, he suffered the shock of the news of passing away of his friend HK.[br /]
[br /]
Then he joined the Times of India beginning with preparing illustrations for[br /]
[br /]
Illustrated Weekly and comic strips[br /]
[br /]
for children’s magazine Junior. He expected a salary of Rs 350 but was offered Rs 500. He also created a comic strip called Gutta-Percha for the Junior magazine.[br /]
[br /]
At the Times of India Professor Walter Langhammar had arranged with the neighboring J J School of Arts to supply models for life classes once a week for them to improve their skills to break the monotony of work. Few days later, a well-polished table was brought into the department and put in a corner. He uses the same table till date.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Seed of His novel - The Hotel Riviera[/b][br /]
[br /]
Tired of living as a paying guest in Mumbai, he shifted to Hotel Mirabai. Staying here was a fascinating experience. He gathered enough material here for a novel The Novel Riviera, which he wrote later. He led a trouble-free and interesting life at the Times of India.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Desire to Sketch Political Cartoons[/b][br /]
[br /]
One day he boldly walked into the editor’s ante-room and asked for the editor’s permission to see him. The editor was a British Army officer, who said that Laxman was not matured enough to take on the role of a political cartoonist for the Times, but agreed to that Laxman could draw political cartoons not for publication but just for the editor to view. Sometimes he merely smiled at them, or granted ‘jolly good’ or at times asked Laxman to explain the satire. Occasionally he laughed and called the assistant editors next door to share the provocation in the cartoon. One morning the editor asked for Laxman’s cartoon about the Berlin blockade. It appeared in the Evening News of India. Then onwards he contributed for the Evening News. After a few more weeks, the editor called for a cartoon done by him on the World Bank’s niggardly loan to India. It appeared in the Times of India on the front page. Then began his thrice a week tenure with the Times, with a panel of three cartoons on Sunday. This became a routine for the past half century.[br /]
[br /]
He was then shifted from the art to the editorial department, with the designation of Chief Political Cartoonist of the Times of India. He continued to illustrate stories and articles for the Weekly, but now as a freelance contributor. He also started a feature called Personalities, in which he did full page color caricatures of prominent leaders in various walks of life. Besides doing cartoons for the Times he had taken on a lot of commissions, as illustrating his brother’s books, short stories and articles. He also did promotional drawings for commercial products for an advertising agency. He organized exhibition of his cartoons and caricatures. He used to fly to Delhi frequently on official visits to meet political leaders, and sat in Parliament’s press gallery to study features and mannerisms of political stalwarts.[br /]
[br /]
Settled in professional life, Laxman married his niece, Kamala. He had a son Shrinivas, who works for Times as an aviation correspondent. Laxman also has a grand daughter called Mahalaxmi.[br /]
[br /]
The Times of India had a separate edition in Delhi. Laxman started a special series called This is Delhi poking fun at the local personalities. Laxman never used Gods, demons or folk tales to illustrate any political events, nor did he make politicians look like cows or donkeys or convert a male with fierce moustache into a coy, saree-clad woman. He dealt with satirical concepts strictly on everyday life. He followed standard rules of perspective, drapery and anatomy. He swiftly sketched his idea in pencil, inked it, wrote the caption and added final details.[br /]
[br /]
He always avoided meeting politicians in his professional life. When a politician congratulated him on his cartoon of the day and thumped on his back saying that he was a genius, he concluded that he had just seen a nasty cartoon of his political enemy in the opposition or of his own party. If a politician pumped his hand with warmth and generous admiration for a cartoon in which he had ridiculed him, he was bland to start quietly telling him in a round about way that he lacked political judgment, and ended up teaching him how to draw cartoons.[br /]
[br /]
He visited London to draw caricatures of David Low, Graham Greene, Bertrand Russell, J B Priestly and T S Eliot. During his stay at Yorkshire, he prepared caricatures of Atlee, Bevan Gaitskell, Wilson, Morrison and many others.[br /]
[br /]
He believed that the image of a person that occurs in one’s memory is of great help. The prominence of rather large nose or a pair of luxuriant bushy eyebrows or a shiny bald pate or a double chin seems important in reality for caricature. But a face appears in one’s memory without light or shade or physical distance in shape. This is what is required to understand the essence of a personality. [br /]
[br /]
The nightmare of a political cartoonist is the deadline, which haunts every newspaper office.
He has to read the papers, analyze events, wait for his satirical idea to dawn, complete the cartoon and meet the deadline so that his efforts appear in the morning edition. After returning from his tour, he thought of preparing political cartoons on the Common Man in various situations, appearing every day. They planned a feature on the front page of the paper with the title of ‘You Said It’. This plan could not shape up because of an offer from Evening Standard, London who wanted Laxman to join as David Low, who was earlier working there, had to move to the Daily Mail. Laxman was in the dilemma to leave India but after a few days, he received a letter from Evening Standard saying that it was difficult for them to continue negotiations and had to withdraw their proposal.[br /]
He had the privilege to work with great gusto, freed from ministers and bureaucrats.[br /]
[br /]
He had an admirer of his cartoons who used to send him three rupees by money order, apologizing that he was poor and could not afford more. That was a token gesture he made wherever he found a cartoon worthy of his appreciation.[br /]
[br /]
He had the privilege to work with great gusto, freed from ministers and bureaucrats. He had an admirer of his cartoons who used to send him three rupees by money order, apologizing that he was poor and could not afford more. That was a token gesture he made wherever he found a cartoon worthy of his appreciation. Laxman, moved by the poor man’s generosity, sent him a set of You Said It volumes with compliments. There was a Christian admirer who wanted Laxman to design the marble headstone for his wife’s grave, as she was a great admirer of Laxman.[br /]
[br /]
[b]A Challenge For Him[/b][br /]
[br /]
After the sudden and tragic assassination of Mrs Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi became the Prime Minister of India. It was a difficult subject as Rajiv was tall, young and handsome. There was nothing in his physical features that one could capture, exaggerate and exploit. Nehru had a wonderful bald pate, which he took the liberty of exposing, removing the Gandhi cap, which he always wore. Mrs Gandhi was also a great personality, but the wisp of lightning – like white hair she sported and the beak-like curve of her nose served a cartoonist’s purpose.
[br /]
[br /]
Apart from a challenge to a caricaturist, Rajiv Gandhi had ideas that were lofty, progressive and of scientific temper. He wanted to take the country to a utopia located in the 21st century. Rajiv, a leader devoid of any human idiosyncrasies, was a challenge to Laxman. With the star actors, dancers, celebrities and sportsmen, Congress candidates for Lok Sabha could gather plenty of ideas from Rajiv’s style of functioning. Laxman made him look a little more rotund than he really was, shortened his nose and tilted it slightly upward, thickened his eyebrows and reduced the hair on his pate, making him nearly bald. Shortly, people started to remark that Rajiv, resembled Laxman’s cartoon version, losing his original God-given good look.[br /]
[br /]
A coffee-table book, The Eloquent Brush: A Selection of Cartoons from Nehru to Rajiv was published by the Times of India to commemorate its 150th year of its publication. Rajiv Gandhi formally released the book.[br /]
[br /]
Laxman had a habit to put his legs up on the table and scoured each page, mulled over possible ideas, pondering, contemplating, rejecting and choosing. After deciding a subject, he weighed its potential relevance in the next day paper, visualizing its graphic possibilities. He mentally formulated the entire cartoon down to the carved legs of the furniture. Laxman’s self-centered characters were caught unawares of being ridiculed with a Punch Line. All this demanded over four hours of intense concentration and mental workouts.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Fascination For Crows[/b][br /]
[br /]
Laxman loved crows as his subjects. Even as a child he had watched them for hours, sketched them in various poses. They had a color, which stood out boldly against any background. As he grew he realized that crows had a temperament close to that of humans – clever, cunning, and cautious. One could spot them any time of the day and draw in all sort of postures and moods - on tree branches, near the garden tap, on the window sill, perching on TV antennae and rooftops, and in flight across the blue sky. Laxman held his exhibition on ‘crows’ in Madras and Mumbai, which had 21 pictures.[br /]
[br /]
A few years later he held a similar crow exhibition. In the second exhibition, he presented only 10 crows along with 12 paintings of Ganapati. He drew the crow one after another in various postures – on branches of trees, sitting on the edge of an earthen pot, in flight, in flocks and perched on TV cables. He wrote short stories and travelogues and edited another collection of You Said It cartoons.[br /]
[br /]
For his professional excellence he was honored with the prestigious Magsaysay International Award, but unfortunately his wife was not present to share the joy as she was on a tour to Europe and America with some of her friends. As soon as Kamala came they were to leave for Philippines. Kamala didn’t know that Laxman was to be awarded. The immigration officials, upon seeing her passport, asked her if she was the wife of the cartoonist who had won the award. She requested the official for the use of the phone call. She confirmed good news and said that she would be home after her baggage was cleared. She lost her luggage somewhere at Kennedy airport in New York or at Heathrow in London. The luggage contained a lot of gifts for friends and relatives, apart from her own personal items. But the sense of loss was soon forgotten because of the thrill of their immediate departure for the Philippines to collect his fabulous award.[br /]
[br /]
When they landed at Manila and taxied towards the ram, they met winners from various parts of Asia as Japan, India, Indonesia etc.[br /]
[br /]
Two ladies walked upto him with bright smiles, "Probably you don’t recognize us", one of them said. Laxman could then recall of a morning in the Times of India office nearly a year ago, when two women journalists touring India at that time called on him. He introduced his wife with those women as "journalist from the Philippines who had called on him in Mumbai". One of them interrupted him saying that they were no journalists but officials of the Magsaysay Foundation. As Laxman had been tentatively selected for the award, they were sent to India under the guise of journalists to assess Laxman’s worthiness to receive the honor. This mission had taken them to Bangalore, where they called on some of Laxman’s old friends and college professors to find out more about Laxman, engaging them in seemingly casual conversation. When they were in Mumbai, they visited the bookshops to collect You Said It books, and chatted with the proprietors to extract more information about the author. Similar teams had been sent to Japan to research the background of an engineer, a priest in Sri Lanka, a professor in Indonesia or an economist in Bangladesh.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Caught At A Wrong Hour[/b][br /]
[br /]
He was in Calcutta, when refugees were pouring into East Bengal across the border. A reporter from Calcutta office accompanied him to the sites. They drove in silence, the car moved on and they talked about the political implications of the situation and the imminent threat of war between India and Pakistan. There were glimpses of soldiers encampments in open fields, army trucks, jeeps and guns. A man crossing the Jessore road leading to Pakistan was sighted, who took up position in the middle of the road, facing the car. He was a soldier in battle dress, aiming his rifle at Laxman. He ordered Laxman to get out of the vehicle, and menacingly directed them to walk to a hut in the middle of a rice field. He asked several questions, and Laxman was happy when he came to know that he was a soldier from India and not Pakistan. Laxman tried to come out safely saying that he was a journalist from Mumbai. The soldier shouted back at Laxman telling him that had he driven for another five minutes, he would have entered the enemy territory, handcuffed and shot. After sometime they were set free and asked to drive back.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Visual Music In China[/b][br /]
[br /]
During his tour to China, Laxman had an unforgettable experience watching a master of calligraphy demonstrate his superb skills. A cartoonist association had arranged for a demonstration in his hotel in Beijing. When all were ready to see the demonstration, he took out of his bag a large brush and a palette to mix the black paint in. He rolled a white sheet of rice paper on the table, studied the paper with piercing eyes, holding the brush poised to attack the white sheet. He took a couple of steps back, stood still, then suddenly lunged forward, dipped the brush in the pool of black paint in the palette, and quickly made a deep black stroke at the top of the paper all at a stretch. Once again he stood back smiling, and his silence gave way to appreciative laughter. Then again he suddenly moved, dipped the brush in the ink and without a pause rapidly moved the brush crisscross over the paper as if to silent music that only he could hear.[br /]
[br /]
It ultimately communicated that his brush journeyed leaving in its wake the most enchanting pattern of Chinese characters. Laxman noted that he had dribbled the ink from the brush in certain places on the paper, while barely touching certain other parts. He had slashed some areas with few bold strokes. On the whole it could be concluded as visual music. Finally he rolled the paper up neatly, tied it with a silk ribbon and presented it to Laxman. They said, "A warm welcome to China, comrade Laxman". Now Laxman too wanted to give something in return, expressing his gratitude to the artist and the association.[br /]
[br /]
Laxman took out a roll of rice paper, spread it on the table just as he had and imitated his stance, took a few steps backwards, much to the amusement of the gathering. He held the brush aloft dipped in the ink and moved it swiftly over the paper writing the message, he heartily thanked the cartoonists association for their warm welcome. He wrote in English script in mock-Chinese style vertically, then he drew his Common Man with his checked coat and famous bewildered look.[br /]
[br /]
Cartoons of the kind one sees in magazines and columns devoted to provoke a smile need less exacting concentration. For instance, funny situations arising out of helpless parents dealing with a naughty boy, or the driver of a speeding car caught by the police, or a fat lady trying to lose weight, or humor arising from doctor-patient relations, bungling players on the golf course, situations in cocktail parties etc. For him it was nerve-wracking to read the same news, assimilate, analyze and create a cartoon with fresh brilliance with each coming day. The insatiable appetite of the public to enjoy denigrating and pillorying its leaders in several variations, even if the situation happened to be the same, it could save the cartoonist. [br /]
[br /]
[b]Making of You Said It[/b][br /]
[br /]
A documentary filmmaker had a bright idea on browsing through the volumes of You Said It, that a movie could be made out of Laxman’s cartoons. Earlier Laxman recoiled and rejected, but the idea of creating a film version of You Said It cartoons fascinated him. He himself was involved in producing the episodes. The two dozen episodes Laxman churned out for the producer were just trivial daily incidents in anyone’s life as admitting a boy to school, taps suddenly running dry in the bathrooms, a distant relative suddenly arriving as a guest or hiring a new servant etc. The film was shown on Doordarshan and was a great success.[br /]
[br /]
Laxman enjoyed the working condition in the Times of India. The proprietors and all his colleagues ungrudgingly accorded him the freedom he needed as a cartoonist. They never refused a request Laxman made regarding his travels abroad or locally, or in any matter concerning his professional needs.[br /]
[br /]
[b]The Grandpa Laxman[/b][br /]
[br /]
Nowadays the relaxing Laxman loves to watch his grand daughter grow. She fascinates him. He wonders how he had ever been able to live all these years without her presence in his house. Mahalaxmi Kutila, Baby, Ram, Papu, Ramanika, Sweety, Doll, so on, are constantly in his thoughts, regardless of where he is or what he is doing. Observing her from a corner provided Laxman with all the entertainment and companionship he needed at this age. With her presence, he has a mysterious sense of being reborn.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]•[/b] Democracy today is not what Pericles of Athens conceived. What you have today is not democracy…[br /]
[br /]
[b]•[/b] Our politics is so sad that if I had not been a cartoonist, I would have committed suicide.[br /]
[br /]
[b]•[/b] Before fifty years, we accepted imperialism. We never bothered much about democracy. We accepted the idea of being kicked around. If was okay. But now, when we don’t accept the idea of being kicked around, we are being kicked around[br /]
[br /]
[b]•[/b] In the name of caste, religion, community you do anything. You kill anyone, murder anyone but nobody minds because we have so many people around. Our asset is our population. Whatever you do, however many you kill, murder, injure – the number never diminishes. So nobody cares.[br /]
[br /]
[b]•[/b] From the pretentious dignity of Mrs. Gandhi to the grumpy face of Narasimha Rao, something happens to all of them when they come to power. They change overnight.[br /]
[br /]
[b]•[/b] You cannot go on and on with subjects like sex. That’s why political cartooning in the West is so mediocre. There’s nothing to it. They draw Clinton like a bull in China shop and things like that. I do not find them amusing at all.[br /]
[br /]
[b]•[/b] Crows are very intelligent creatures and that is my art. Not cartooning. I love my crows. I draw them whenever I find the time.[br /]
[br /]
[b]•[/b] What politics is all about today. Blah-blah-blah. The day that stops and the quality of our leaders improves, I will have to retire and go away.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]•[/b] Our politics is so sad that if I had not been a cartoonist, I would have committed suicide.[br /]
[br /]
[b]•[/b] Before fifty years, we accepted imperialism. We never bothered much about democracy. We accepted the idea of being kicked around. If was okay. But now, when we don’t accept the idea of being kicked around, we are being kicked around[br /]
[br /]
[b]•[/b] In the name of caste, religion, community you do anything. You kill anyone, murder anyone but nobody minds because we have so many people around. Our asset is our population. Whatever you do, however many you kill, murder, injure – the number never diminishes. So nobody cares.[br /]
[br /]
[b]•[/b] From the pretentious dignity of Mrs. Gandhi to the grumpy face of Narasimha Rao, something happens to all of them when they come to power. They change overnight.[br /]
[br /]
[b]•[/b] You cannot go on and on with subjects like sex. That’s why political cartooning in the West is so mediocre. There’s nothing to it. They draw Clinton like a bull in China shop and things like that. I do not find them amusing at all.[br /]
[br /]
[b]•[/b] Crows are very intelligent creatures and that is my art. Not cartooning. I love my crows. I draw them whenever I find the time.[br /]
[br /]
[b]•[/b] What politics is all about today. Blah-blah-blah. The day that stops and the quality of our leaders improves, I will have to retire and go away.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
