Biography of R.K.Laxman-Indian Cartoonist

Name: RASIPURAM KRISHNASWAMY IYER LAXMAN / R.K.LAXMAN

Father: Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Iyer – A School Head Master

Mother: Gnanambal

Date of Birth: 24th October 1921-Born in Mysore, Karnataka

Date of Death: 26th January 2015- Expired at Pune, Maharashtra (At the age of 93 years)

Occupation: Cartoonist

Elder Brother: R.K.Narayan- Famous Indian Novelist

Spouse/s: 

Bharata Natyam Dancer-cum-Actress Kumari Kamala (First wife-Divorced) and

Kamala Laxman- (Second Wife-Elder Sister’s Daughter) who wrote “Thama Stories” for kids with R.K.Laxman’s pictures.

Education: Graduate (B.A.)-University of Mysore

Career: 

R.K.Laxman was interested in drawing pictures, especially cartoons, right from his school days. He had worked as a cartoonist in the local newspapers and magazines. He had drawn cartoon pictures for his elder brother R.K.Narayan’s stories published in the newspaper-‘The Hindu’.

R.K.Laxman was a political cartoonist for ‘The Free Press Journal’ in Mumbai, where, the Shiv Sena Founder Leader- Mr.Bal Thackery was his colleague-cartoonist.

Then, he became a cartoonist in the magazine-“The Times of India” and became popular for his “The Common Man” Cartoons.

The following is a list of books by/with the sketches by  R.K.Laxman:-

Name of the Book/Year of Publication:

“You Said it”/1964

“Sorry,No Room”/1969

“Thama and the Little Bird,”Thama Stories/1970

“Doodles”/1975

“In the Wonder Land of Indian Managers”/1977

“Idel Hours” –Short Stories, Travelogues, Essays and Anecdotes/1982

“Science Smiles”/1985

“Random Sketches”/1985

“The Eloquent Brush”/ 1988

“The Hotel Riviera”/ 1989

“Calcutta Images”/1990

“The Messenger”/ 1993

“The Best of Laxman”/ 1995

“The Tunnel of Time”-An Auto-biography/ 1998

“Laughter Lines-The Cartoon Craft of R.K.Laxman”- Co-Author Bal Thackeray /1999

“Laugh with Laxman”/ 2000

“Faces Through the Eyes of R.K.Laxman”/2000

“Collected Writings”/ 2000

“Dose of Laughter”/ 2002

“Servants of India”/ 2002

“Common Man Tackles Corruption”/2002

“A Vote for Laughter”/2003

“Common Man Balanced His Budget”/2003

“Common Man Goes to the Village”/2003

“Common Man Watches Cricket”/2003

“The Distorted Mirror”/ 2004

“Brushing Up the Years-A Cartoonist’s History of India-1947 to the Present”/2008

“The Uncommon Man”-Collection of Works from 1948 to 2008/2009

“The Very Best of the Common Man”/2012

“He Said It! The Common Man Speaks”-
(A book by C.S.Nag-on the life and the cartoons of R.K.Laxman )/ 2012

“In the World of Corporate Managers”(In English and  Gujarati)/2013

“India Through the Eyes of R.K.Laxman-Then to Now”- Published in CD.

Awards and Recognitions Given to R.K.Laxman:-

Name of the Award/Given by/Year:

“Padma Bhushan”/Union Government of India/1973

“ Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts”/ 1984

“Padma Vishushan”/Union Government of India/2005

“Lifetime Achievement Award for Journalism”/CNN IBN TV/2008

“ Pune Pandit Award” (Scholar of Pune Award) For Excellence in ‘Creative Communication’/The  Art & Music Foundation/2012

“Honorary Doctorate”/University of Mysore/ 2004

A Chair has been named after R.K.Laxman at Symbiosis International University, Pune.

In Pune a statue of ‘R.K.Laxman’s “Common Man” has been erected to honour R.K.L.

“R.K.Laxman Ki Duniya”-A Television Show was telecast on SAB TV.