Legendary Cartoonist R K Laxman, Dies at 94

Legendary cartoonist Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Laxman, popularly known as R K Laxman, creator of the iconic “Common Man”, died in a private hospital in Pune on Monday evening after a brief illness, a family member said. He was 94. Laxman, brother of late novelist R.K. Narayan, is survived by writer wife Kamala, retired journalist son Srinivas and daughter-in-law Usha.

He had been admitted to a private hospital around 10 days ago for a urinary tract infection and lung problems. As there was no improvement in his condition, he was shifted to the Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospital here and put on a ventilator last Sunday (Jan 18). R K Laxman had suffered multiple organs failure, but responded well to the treatment and bounced back. Three days later, he was removed off the ventilator and shifted to the intensive care unit.

He was first admitted to a hospital nearby Jan 16, but his condition showed no improvement. Later, we moved him to Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospital where he showed a miraculous recovery,” Srinivas told. He added that Laxman’s 89-year old wife Kamala took the news of her husband’s demise stoically. “The past 10 days have been extremely unnerving… the uncertainties of his health was a concern for the entire family,” he said.The date and venue of Laxman’s funeral have not yet been finalized and will be announced in due course, he added. (IANS)