Cartoonist R K Laxman back again in a witty online show

Revisiting the legend

One of the cartoons that will be part of the online show. 

That celebrated satirist with a masterly control over the drawing pen, R K Laxman is back in an online avatar. Skipping its physical space in pandemic times, the Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Cartoonists (IIC) has put up an exhibition, splashing the master’s arresting lines on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Laxman’s acerbic wit had played with the funny bones of newspaper readers for generations. Decades before social media amplified the works of lesser mortals, this cartoonist had millions riveted to his pocket cartoons day after day, year after year.

Launched on Sunday, the IIC’s latest Laxman tribute dives deep into the art of the man, and his fledgling lines that first captivated the readers of a humour magazine edited by noted humorist Dr Shivaram. Laxman was then a student at Maharaja’s College in Mysuru, but his wit and lines had a maturity that had everyone in awe.

Birth anniversary

October 24 is Laxman’s birthday, and the show will stay alive for two days more, assures the IIC’s V Narendra. Lined up for the days till curtains are a rich medley of caricatures, political cartoons, illustrations and even advertisement drawings dipped in trademark Laxman wit.

From his illustrations that injected life into brother R K Narayan’s novels Malgudi Days, Swami and Friends and more, the show will capture Laxman’s distinct style in its multiple avatars.

“He had his own style, although it related to David Lowe’s. But later, Lowe himself lauded Laxman’s strokes and lines,” Narendra recalls.

Laxman’s artworks on Kolkata, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh had an arresting appeal. The show takes a deep dive, displaying four cartoons daily. “An entire day is devoted for display of his cartoons that appeared on the front pages of the Illustrated Weekly.”

A veteran cartoonist of repute himself in Bengaluru, Narendra was inspired by Laxman to take up the art.

“I have been a great follower of him since school. I would rush to the library every day to read his pocket cartoons,” says Narendra, now curating the entire show.

Laxman's visit to city

Laxman had visited the Indian Cartoon Gallery, located off MG Road on February 2, 2002. He was wheelchair-bound but his presence for a felicitation triggered a mini-storm among avid cartoonists in the city. Eighteen years later, the ongoing online show has sparked a similar rush of fandom.

Catch the show on Twitter @CartoonistsInd, on Facebook at (facebook.com/IIC4u) and on Instagram (venkatesh.narendra).