RK Laxman drew inspiration from old Mysuru

It was old Mysuru that moulded RK Laxman's simple but fascinating worldview. The cartoonist, who was born and grew up in the old locality of Lakshmipuram, loved the sights and soul of a city that fuelled his art. Once during a visit, he even went for a drive around his old haunts in the city, like Devaraja Market, Silver Jubilee Clock Tower and Sayyaji Rao Road. Unlike many youths who hung around Ashoka junction next to Lakshmipuram, Laxman used to take keen interest in a mentally unstable person in tattered clothes who roamed around the junction famously called Ballal Circle, explains K N Ramachandra. "He would intently look at him and follow him. We used to find it funny," the septuagenarian Mysurean said. Laxman was a keen observer and loved to visit the crowded marketplaces in the city. "He used to advise budding cartoonists like me to be observant," recalled Nagendra Babu. "When I met him seeking guidance, he told me to go and sit in the market and just watch people and their behaviour," the 42-year-old city-based cartoonist said. That's perhaps how he could give shape to his illustrious novelist brother RK Narayan's characters in the fictional Malgudi, says Nagendra. Though he rose to be a celebrated cartoonist, Laxman was simple and charmed people with his wry observations. In 1993, the city's intellectual retreat Dhvanyaloka had hosted a three-day meet where Laxman was invited to speak about the art of cartooning. Mulk Raj Anand, Shivaram Karanth, Kapila Vatsyayan, C D Narasimhaiah, Raja Ramanna and B V Karanth were the other celebrated guests. He regaled the audience with his wit and sarcasm, recalled C N Srinath, director of Dhvanyaloka. Back benches to front pages In 2006, on a visit to Mysuru, R K Laxman expressed a desire to visit Maharaja's College, his alma mater. As he entered the hallowed institution, the cartoonist became nostalgic for the next two hours. Though he could not walk briskly due to a paralytic stroke, he took his time and strolled down the portals. When he reached Senior BA Hall, the expansive classroom that accommodates 300 students, he impulsively went inside in search of a bench where he had carved out his initials next to his brothers' years ago. Though he couldn't locate the bench, he sat in the classroom and recalled his college days. It was a Sunday and there were no students. But for the few present, those were moments to be cherished as Laxman confessed to being a lastbencher. R N Padmanabha, retired professor, said: "He was particularly proud that he studied at the Maharaja's and happy that the monument has retained its charm." Laxman had come with wife Kamala and friend, photojournalist T S Satyan. The two legends had a gala time and took photographs in the college, he recalled. The cartoonist, who famously said he didn't 'remember wanting to do anything else except draw', craved for a glimpse of Room No 38, the airy classroom on the first floor built above the portico that has three large doors. But he couldn't climb the staircase. He strained to have a look from the ground floor at the room where he sat years ago to illustrate cartoons for R K Narayan's works. Just two years prior to the visit, in January 2004, the University of Mysore, had bestowed an honorary degree on Laxman, but his health didn't permit him to travel to Mysuru to receive it. He was felicitated at Mumbai after the convocation. -TOI