Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under R.N.I 53640/91

Vol. XXVI No. 03, May 16-31, 2016

Cartoonists celebrate.and Charukesi recalls

R.K. Laxman
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Freelance cartoonist Ramki, in association with fellow ­cartoonists like Devanathan, Siva and Ganesh Mahadevan, organised a gala function to celebrate the World Cartoonist’s Day in Madras on May 5, 2016.

A dozen children out of over 100 who participated in the drawing competition were given certificates and cash prizes sponsored by RmKv. Renowned octogenarian cartoonist Rahnu and the versatile Aras were honoured on the occasion and they handed over prizes to the children, urging them to take drawing as a serious hobby. Young Shreeya spoke on her ‘Favourite Cartoon Show’. G.K. Gokulraj, CEO, Mycopie, was the Chief Guest.

When this writer was asked to speak on the late R.K. Laxman, he paid tributes in his opening remarks to the stalwarts such as Mario Miranda, Rajinder Puri, Sudhir Dhar, O.V. Vijayan, our own Ajit Nainan (of ToI), Keshav and Surendra (of The Hindu), Madhi (of Dinamani) and Madhan (ex-Vikatan) and the score of others who contributed to several regional papers and periodicals.

Recalling a meeting with R.K. Laxman, as a freelance journalist in Chennai some years ago, I still cherish the memory of getting a picture of his favourite crow drawn very quickly by him.

When Laxman was asked by an American cartoonist, where Laxman stood among the cartoonists of India, he had replied without any hesitation: ‘I know I am in the first, second, third, fourth and fifth place. I do not know who is next!’

That was the confidence Laxman had.

For 57 years, he drew cartoons for The Times of India and only once in September 2003, when he was in hospital after a paralytic stroke, was he absent from the newspaper. After recovery, he routinely began his work daily at 8.30 in the morning and dispatched his cartoon by 4 in the evening.

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Laxman’s sense of humour is legendary. In his autobiography, The Tunnel of Times, he describes his tryst with the Padma Bhushan awarded to him over four decades ago, during Indira Gandhi’s reign. “A circular from the Prime Minister followed from Delhi, asking me to be present in the capital for rehearsals. If I was to bring my spouse, I had to bear the expenses of her travel and on the day of the function, she should dress soberly wearing a saree, whose border should not be more than two inches broad. Fortunately, I was spared of the ordeal of attending the rehearsal, as well as the ceremony. Ten months later, the citation declaring that I received a Padma Bhushan and two medals – one big and one small – were delivered by a postman to my flat. There was a note from the Home Secretary stating that the big medal was to be worn for formal occasions and the small one on informal occasions. However, it hinted that neither should be displayed conspicuously. I am still to understand what these instructions meant.”

Whenever I visited Pune, I never missed looking at the statue of the Common Man in the Symbiosis Institute. L.K. Advani said once: “R.K. Laxman is the most brilliant cartoonist in India. It is no small feat to draw cartoons on contemporary politics for so many decades. Commenting on political events is a journalist’s job but the ability to do it with wit and humour with the help of a few lines is remarkable. Two years ago, Symbiosis Institute in Pune presented me with a modified statue of the Common Man with my face topping the statue. Of all the things that people have given me over the years, this is my favourite memento.”

Somnath Chatterjee, former Speaker of the Lok Sabha, once said: “It gives me immense pleasure to say that I am an unabashed admirer of Laxman’s work. We cannot think of The Times of India without his cartoons.” Bal Thackeray, Shiv Sena chief and a cartoonist himself, said: “Of India’s cartoonists, Laxman is the last ­Roman. Craftsmanship and consistency are his two biggest strengths.”

It is no secret that Laxman admired President Kalam. R.K. Laxman himself wrote an article in The Times of India on January 29, 2006, in which he had mentioned an incident:

“I had asked him on phone, what he wanted from Mumbai. He had laughed and said, ‘I want all of you to come, that is the best gift.’ Nevertheless, I did a drawing for him of Ganesha being worshipped by the Common Man. Since I had to get it framed immediately, my wife took it to one of those little Gowalia Tank shops and said she wanted it done by evening. The framer’s first reaction was, ‘So little time? It will cost you a bomb.’ Then he surveyed the sketch with an expression that said: ‘What is so great about this?’ My wife told him that the sketch was a gift for the President. It has been done by R.K. Laxman.’ ‘What?’ he exclaimed. And not only did he have it ready in time, he also refused payment, eventually accepting only a nominal sum, when pressed.”

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President Kalam carried this picture to the Jaipur Art Show and he repeatedly told visitors, “See, this is what Laxman gifted me.”

President Kalam praised him saying, “Laxman had the unique ability to bring out happiness and sadness with the same stroke. The Times of India cartoonist manages to bring out the human element in a beautiful manner.” Laxman, in turn said that it was an honour to receive the Padma Vibhushan award from a person like Kalam.

When Laxman went to receive the Padma Vibhushan, he had carried the sketch he had done for Times of India, of the Common Man garlanding Kalam. Laxman writes: “When I gave it to him, he promptly framed it and put it on his desk. His comment was characteristically self-deprecatory. ‘The Common Man garlanding a Very Common Man’.”

What was the secret of Laxman’s energy, wit and humour? Said Laxman: “Thanks entirely to politicians. They have made it possible for me to retain it even in the worst of circumstances.” He went on to recount an encounter with Lalu Prasad Yadav, alternating between amusement and visible aversion. “That man was born for caricaturing,” he ­declared.

Morarji Desai once reportedly held a cabinet meeting on how to suppress the irrepressible Laxman. Did Laxman ever meet him? “Fortunately not,” said Laxman, with a grin.

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