Common man won’t be the same with the passing away of the iconic cartoonist R.K.Laxman. At the age of 93, R K Laxman, the country’s 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.
The recipient of numerous awards, among them the Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Magsaysay Award, Laxman has been known for his cartoon character “Common Man”. Created in 1957, the character is the symbol of India’s ordinary people, their trials and tribulations, their joys and sorrows, and the mess they find themselves within the political class and bureaucracy.
Born in 1921 in Mysore, the man who had no formal training in cartooning breathed his last few years in Pune. The end came after a multi-organ failure on January 26. Prior to this he suffered a stroke in 2003 which paralyzed his left side. In 2010, he suffered another stroke which robbed him of his speech. However, he never stopped drawing till the very end.
His death brought a stop to the 66th Republic Day celebrations in the country. Fans and supporters of his art work jumped on to social media to express their sorrow and condolences. From the time news broke #rklaxman, The Common Man have been trending on Twitter and Facebook.
He has had a remarkable send off journey with fans across the country sharing his amazing work rather than just posting ‘RIP R.K.Laxman’.
Curated below are some of the touching tributes to the man who kept us entertained over decades with his brilliant cartoons:
Goodbye Dronacharya! #rklaxman #cartoon pic.twitter.com/J1jyjUOZCK
— Satish Acharya (@satishacharya) January 26, 2022
R.I.P, RK Laxman pic.twitter.com/gbnjADr1DW
— R Prasad (@rprasad66) January 27, 2022
Goodbye R K Laxman. It’s a heartbreak for the common man. A humble tribute. pic.twitter.com/wdnCdXofAD — Roflindian 2.0 (@Roflindian) January 26, 2022
My tribute to the Common man. #RKLaxman pic.twitter.com/fNVKC3D2Rx — Anjali George (@AnjaliGorg) January 26, 2022
RIP RK Laxman. The common man will miss you! (via @sagarcartoonist) #rklaxman pic.twitter.com/JBKPWix7U8 — The UnReal Times (@TheUnRealTimes) January 26, 2022
Genius tribute by the brother @sooraj_FdX on RK Laxman: pic.twitter.com/29qHuWyU95 — Deepak (@chuck_gopal) January 26, 2022
Rest in peace, RK Laxman! http://t.co/SGKmXvjSrG pic.twitter.com/X2J4xvGi4w — Reddit India (@redditindia) January 26, 2022
Gen Dalbir Singh, COAS & all ranks of the Army pay our condolences on the demise of the cartoonist Shri RK Laxman pic.twitter.com/usN8GN51VC — ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) January 26, 2022
#rklaxman (1921-2015) pic.twitter.com/CqY8uCxdS9 — MANJUL (@MANJULtoons) January 26, 2022
#RKLaxman #CommonMan made by a Redditor on India Reddit http://t.co/8k85HOe5hY pic.twitter.com/kaYcd5vppr — Reddit India (@redditindia) January 27, 2022
Amul Topical : Tribute to an uncommon man. pic.twitter.com/oWVqAlbHf8 — Amul.coop (@Amul_Coop) January 27, 2022
#RKLaxman. R.I.P. My tribute to a man who influenced me in many ways. From sketching to human observation. #iPops pic.twitter.com/mJ2POA0h9q — K V Sridhar (@kvpops) January 26, 2022
Tribute to a legend. #rklaxman sent this delightful gift to ISRO a couple of weeks back. pic.twitter.com/rvwejax4rF — ISRO (@isro) January 27, 2022
R K Laxman will live with us forever as Aam Aadmi ( common man) #rklaxman #aamadmi pic.twitter.com/5wRzr9jbzp
— Kanika Mishra (@kanikacart) January 26, 2022
RIP #cartoonist #RKLaxman #TimesOfIndia @timesofindia @phalano pic.twitter.com/l2dJtvSqUW
— PHALANO™ (@phalano) January 26, 2022
R.K.Laxman drew this cartoon for my book India Is For sale. Told me the manuscript made him laugh. RIP Sir. pic.twitter.com/Ax4HwwXvMD
— Chitra Subramaniam (@chitraSD) January 26, 2022
The day RK Laxman bid the common man goodbye, by @narsim1961 | http://t.co/t1mp9UZ7Nm pic.twitter.com/S4pxs18fFy
— DailyO (@DailyO_) January 27, 2022
RK Laxman – The Common man | #Cartoon by @ManojKureel - http://t.co/q1NdrPanz4 pic.twitter.com/iFI6S3IETw
— Mission beyond 272+ (@India272) January 27, 2022
Just had to draw the common man. #RIPRKLaxman pic.twitter.com/ocXKkCcavC
— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) January 26, 2022
@BoredCricket here’s my take. The only thing in TO I worth reading was his cartoon pic.twitter.com/bl6DG3IH7S
— Hrishikesh Ramani (@hrishiishere) January 26, 2022
A personal loss. God bless R K Laxman. #CommonMan #rklaxman pic.twitter.com/XWeXOi0m7h
— Neelabh Banerjee (@NeelabhToons) January 26, 2022
