Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Laxman was an Indian cartoonist, illustrator, and humorist.He is best known for his creation The Common Man and for his daily cartoon strip, You Said It in The Times of India, which started in 1951. R K Laxman started his career as a part-time cartoonist, working mostly for local newspapers and magazines. While as a college student, he illustrated his older brother R. K. Narayan's stories in The Hindu. His first full-time job was as a political cartoonist for The Free Press Journal in Mumbai. Later, he joined The Times of India, and became famous for The Common Man character, which turned out to be the turning point in Laxman's life.
One of the greatest cartoonists of the world, regarded as the ‘keeper of the conscience’ in India for over five decades, is no more. Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Laxman – R.K.Laxman for short – passed away on January 26, 2015, India’s Republic Day. His iconic character of ‘The Common Man’ shone a brilliant ray of humour and wit into the painful process of Indian democracy and politics.The Common Man has been commemorated in a postage stamp released by the Indian Postal Service, and was also the mascot for the budget airline Air Deccan. Winner of awards ranging from Padma Vibhushan to the Ramon Magsaysay Award, Laxman’s wit and humour will live on through his innumerable cartoons and compilations – as well as quotes. Here are 25 quotes by this creative genius, captured in his autobiography ‘The Tunnel of Time’ and in numerous media interviews. May the message of his dedication, perspective and humour live with us for ever.
- A cartoonist enjoys not a great man but a ridiculous man.
- Britishers who came to India missed Indian humour since they couldn’t understand our sense of domestic humour. They thought Indians have no sense of humour!
- Cartooning is the art of insult and ridicule.
- Change? Does the colour of the sky change ever? My symbol will never change.
- Crows are so good looking, so intelligent. Where will I find characters like that in politics?
- Each morning I grumble, I plan to resign as I drag myself to office. By the time I come home I like my work!
- Every one of my drawings is my favourite. <