Goodbye RK Laxman - the uncommon "common man"

Goodbye Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Laxman. You inspired me to start drawing cartoons. That was because you just made it look so easy. I was a kid when I first discovered the world of cartoons and caricatures. They looked easy enough, until I tried to copy the drawings. Only then did I realize how tough it is to copy cartoons and caricatures that Laxman made effortlessly every day for a few decades.I would open the pages of The Illustrated Weekly of India and head straight for the pages that had caricatures that Laxman had drawn. My Sundays would be spent trying to imitate that style of drawing. I learned that the most important skill of a cartoonist is the ability to observe the everyday events and draw out something that made us smile. He was the invisible Dronacharya who trained me.I loved the character he had created - the "Common Man". The character who appeared in the chamber of a pompous politician, in the living room, in the kitchen, trying to bring back a bag of vegetables.He was everywhere, watching and observing, silently.The common man was there every year when the budget was announced. His expression was one of dismay. Prices would go up every year and yet the common man had something different to say each time the budget was announced. Then there was the railway budget that would announce fare hikes and the common man would overhear someone passing a snide remark. The common man was silent -usually. There were a few occasions when he said a few lines. But the old bepectacled meek looking man in his characteristic coat and dhoti-kurta remained a fixture in the collective conscious of the nation for years. He said what we had thought of but could not. Like when he showed an astrologer sitting in the airport "since no one seemed have any information about the Indian Airlines flights". He could say what we were afraid to - especially to the powers that be.His caricatures always made a statement. Indira Gandhi was always shown with her nose in the air. Sanjay Gandhi was the "enfant terrible" in the pram wheeled by his mother. When Rajiv Gandhi came to power, Laxman was worried. After all if politicians did everything right, the satirists and cartoonists would be jobless. He said much to his relief very soon that Rajiv Gandhi did not disappoint the cartoonist. And Laxman remained a part of our lives.For some strange reason, RK Laxman loved drawing crows. Yes, the common Indian crow. It was like the common man - omnipresent but largely ignored. And a nuisance if you were trying to avoid its one-eyed gaze. The common Indian crow protests are irritating. But like the common man, their numbers are depleting. You only had to look at the drawing of the crows to realize what an awesome artist RK Laxman was.RK Laxman died on 26th January 2015 when the nation was busy celebrating the nations 66th Republic Day. Maybe that was his last satirical comment. Who knows.But one thing is for sure, when we pick up the Times of India tomorrow morning with the morning cuppa, something will be missing - the uncommon touch of the common man. Adieu RK Laxman. You will be missed.-----------Join me on Twitter @AbhijitBhaduri