R.K.Laxman - the common man's voice

On 26th Jan. 2015 R.K.Laxman, who has been aptly referred to by the Times of India (TOI) publication as India's conscience keeper, passed away. For many generations his satirical cartoons provided a voice to the common yet unspoken angst that the masses felt against the societal ills. These cartoons which graced the front pages of the TOI for nearly 50 years under the header 'You said it', many a times, were the only thing that would bring cheer to the reader in what otherwise would be an all out assault of bad news in the form of political scandals, accidents or mishaps etc. The below article in TOI nicely summarizes R.K.Laxman's contribution to the Indian society.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/R-K-Laxman-nations-uncrowned-conscience-keeper/articleshow/46022595.cms?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=TOIIndiaNews

For me , R.K.Laxman's cartooning skills have an added appeal - his visual rendition of 'Malgudi', its scenes and inhabitants (Malgudi is a fictional town created by his elder brother - the famous Indian novelist - late R.K.Narayan), have permanently etched onto my mind how a typical Indian village would be.

With his demise, the twitterati exploded with loads of condolence messages as well as messages eulogizing his work. A couple of such messages are reproduced below:-

1. "The common man just lost its first citizen. RIP R.K.Laxman"

2. "R.K.Laxman, nation's uncrowned conscience keeper."