The genius chronicler of Indias life and political history, who unfailingly brought millions of readers the gift of a chuckle every day, is no more. R K Laxman, the countrys best-known cartoonist, passed away on the evening of January 26, at the Dinanath Mangeshkar hospital in Pune, where he was on life support for the past few days. He was 93. Born in 1921 in Mysore, Laxman had no formal training in cartooning but the work he put out over decades was sheer genius. He began by drawing for local papers, and illustrating the stories of his famous elder brother, novelist R K Narayan, while still at college. After stints at various publications and even a film studio after his graduation, he came to Mumbai in the 1940s. After a brief spell at the Free Press Journal, he came to the Times group in 1947 and stayed there for the rest of his glittering career. May his great souls rest in peace and inspire thousands of common man in the coming days
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 07:17:00 +0000