TRIBUTE TO R.K. Laxman |THE VOICE OF A COMMON MAN

I do not know where to start. I am back after a hiatus. I was probably lulled to a sweet slumber. A chance to be with the people you love and care. I went to my homeland after three and a half years……it was such a brief soiree that I hardly got a chance to wink.I come back enriched with lots of memories. I realised distance plays a critical role in moulding relationships. I found its an unclear image of what lies beneath. A single whtsapp message or a call cannot fathom the depth of a relationship. You really need to charge your soul with human warmth. Always value the people who care for you….no matter how busy you are…..!

There were funny encounters, silly abroad-living brags, awkward feet touches, cramming food in a capsule, dripping sweats and midnight talks but most importantly silent prayers for the world that I have. And the cherub..no mention…she went berserk…tagged as the English-speaking snob…..but drizzled with gifts and tons of wet hugs…..

Three years is a long time, I might sound a prude to situations. But apart from the mercury I realised the inflation had surged to scary heights….which is still on a constant rise. You start living in a place and call it your home. You get accustomed to its way of living. You stay away from the same place for a while….you return to examine everything under a magnifying glass. The people who stayed back tread the steep climb slowly and steadily but if you just landed you on the summit. You are bound to find the mountain high….hmm!

I will cut short my socio-economic lessons. Somehow I did not want to shoot food this time…but wanted to excavate my rather archaic art skills. Weave a story of my experiences by cartooning and mimicking. As a toddler I had seen my parental uncle illustrate a lot. He made some very beautiful cards for me….unique till date…..in his pile of work I found some collection of cartoons. I did not read much…but somehow those cartoons spoke to me about their humour sometimes subtle otherwise a gullible mock. I asked my uncle who made these….he told me that they were made by the great cartoonist R.K Laxman.

A true man of his substance known for his bold cartoons and illustrations in the Times of India newspaper. Where his column “You said it” for almost 50 years. He was best known for his creation of the Common man as a silent spectator. I never read the newspaper 🙂 but always scavenged through the old paper piles to read this one column. I would try to mimic his work. My post today is dedicated to the one man whom I followed for the last 36 years. He died last year and from that time on I wanted to do a tribute. This is my prayer for his client legacy.

Food has been my core weakness and from the time I took up food blogging I started spelling words like gluten-free, fat-free,organic, free range and vegan. R.K Laxman created common man to satire the current world situation. With the growing inflation, the common man’s plight is untold. Life for a common man is about getting everyday ration for his family within the limits of his budget. These buzzwords are yet to infiltrate his ears. This is my version of the common man.

This time I cribbed about the heat and the air conditioner not cooling me down. We must have read, re-read the words deforestation, Industrialisation, reducing water table, shifting tectonic plates, melting polar ice caps a thousand times. Its essence is lost, we have taken solace in our gradual digress.The common man has acclimatised itself to the changing environment. This is my version of the common man.

I found myself the basic ingredient of pannacotta while cooking at home. I am the  “modern consumer” who is hungry for global consumption patterns. Imported food brands have proliferated the supermarket aisles and also my Nita Kirana store. We have exotic fruits, expensive cheeses and fancy vegetables. The political clan is applauding this revolution as imports aid the economic growth.While the market remain unregulated and the goods are substandard. The common man is in a state of bewilderment.This is my version of the common man.

My cherub was playing on the climbing frame while there were only two toddlers who played along. I sat down for a while to notice a huge gang of children peering down into an object. A fellow boy had received his new cell phone. This is my modern Swami who once played cricket. Today he celebrated his victory of his new prized possession with a selfie with his pals.

R.K narayan was the elder brother of R.K Laxman. R.K Narayan was a renowned novelist and his famous work include the Malgudi days. The story is about the boy Swami (as we all know him) who despised school and had a very strict father. He went around Malgudi (fictional town) with his friends. An adorable boy with his naughty charm always unto a new antic.This is my improvised version.

I hope you enjoyed my rendition. Tomorrow will be a new day. I will be back to my normal life nothing will change apart from my ramblings. India will awaken to many more breaking news but will definitely miss the morning tea with the common man.

Disclaimer : This is a tribute the renowned cartoonist R.K Laxman. These improvised cartoons of his famous work will not be used for any commercial purpose.