R. K. Laxman Museum

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R. K. Laxman Museum
Building of R. K. Laxman Museum, Pune.jpg
Exterior of the museum building
R. K. Laxman Museum
Established6 March 2022 (2022-03-06)
Location Balewadi, Pune, Maharashtra, India
Coordinates 18°34′24″N73°46′14″E / 18.573367°N 73.770666°E / 18.573367; 73.770666
Type Single-artist museum
Owner Pune Municipal Corporation
Website www.rklaxmanmuseum.com

The R. K. Laxman Museum is a single-artist museum located in Balewadi area of Pune, Maharashtra. It is dedicated to the life and works of R. K. Laxman, one of India's most popular cartoonist and illustrator. The Government of Maharashtra and the Pune Municipal Corporation collaborated to create this museum which was inaugurated on 6 March 2022 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Background

In career spanning more than 70 years, Laxman created over 35,000 cartoons and illustrations. After he died on 26 January 2015, his daughter Usha undertook the task of compiling the works for the purpose of creating the museum. The idea came to fruition when the state government and the local municipal body joined in. The architecture of the museum was executed by design consultancy firm Unitecture. The work had begun in 2015 and handed over to Laxman family in 2018 to design the art galleries. However, it was delayed by over 8 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eventually, the museum was inaugurated in 2022. [4] [5]

Galleries and exhibits

The layout of the museum consists of several galleries, a cafeteria, two audio-visual rooms, and exhibition halls. A huge life-size portrait of Laxman's The Common Man , his most famous creation, greets the visitors and the tourists. The entire life story of Laxman is narrated by the Common Man, who takes the visitors through a mixed-media journey, telling them the story of the man who created him. In the welcome note to the museum, the Common Man, says: “A grand welcome to the R. K. Laxman Museum. I am your host and I will give you a visual experience of this museum and tell you the story of the man you created me.” [6]

The gallery showing Laxman's life has a portion that depicts his childhood spent with his elder brother, R. K. Narayan, the creator of Malgudi Days, and a prominent figure of modern Indian English writing. Laxman had in fact begun his career by illustrating Narayan's books. [6] [7]

In the caricature section of the photo gallery, Laxman's caricature sketches of famous personalities are showcased. A particular section also shows Laxman's depictions of the elephant-headed god, Ganesha in various forms, while another space of the gallery is dedicated to his cartoons on children. The outdoor galleries show his cartoons about the Mumbai administration, and some of The Common Man sketches. Textual panels on the walls, and audio-visual frames guide the visitors through the museum. [6]

Statue of Common Man at the entrance of R K Laxman Museum Laxman Museum 1.jpg
Statue of Common Man at the entrance of R K Laxman Museum
A gallery inside R K Laxman Museum Laxman Museum 4.jpg
A gallery inside R K Laxman Museum

Two different shows, one a documentary on Laxman's life, and another a light-and-sound show on Malgudi days, take place in the two dedicated audio-visual rooms within the museum. The light-and-sound brings to life the town of Malgudi, that Narayan had fictitiously created. [6] [8]

A dedicated gallery space deals with the crow, Laxman's favourite bird. The gallery houses the various sketches of the bird made by the cartoonist, as well as models of the birds busy in different activities. Laxman was fond of them as he found them energetic, naughty and intelligent. He could even distinguish one from the other, and had different names for them. [6]

His last cartoon made on 20 December 2014 for the occasion of India's Mars Orbiter Mission, Mangalayan's completion of hundred days on the Martian orbit is housed in the audio-visual gallery. It shows the Common Man travelling towards the red planet with a national flag in his hand. His son Arun, employed at ISRO, is referred to in the note along with the cartoon. [9] [10] [11]

Today, Laxman's grand daughter Rimanika carries her grandfather's legacy forward. She has created the Common Woman, presenting a gendered version of the societal caricature that Laxman's immortal cartoon featured. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartoon</span> Type of two-dimensional visual art

A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images intended for satire, caricature, or humor; or a motion picture that relies on a sequence of illustrations for its animation. Someone who creates cartoons in the first sense is called a cartoonist, and in the second sense they are usually called an animator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. K. Narayan</span> Indian writer (1906–2001)

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayanaswami, better known as R. K. Narayan, was an Indian writer and novelist known for his work set in the fictional South Indian town of Malgudi. He was a leading author of early Indian literature in English along with Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Editorial cartoonist</span> Artist drawing editorial cartoons that contain political or social commentary

An editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary. Their cartoons are used to convey and question an aspect of daily news or current affairs in a national or international context. Political cartoonists generally adopt a caricaturist style of drawing, to capture the likeness of a politician or subject. They may also employ humor or satire to ridicule an individual or group, emphasize their point of view or comment on a particular event.

Malgudi is a fictional town located in Agumbe situated in the Shivamogga district of the Indian state of Karnataka in the novels and short stories of R. K. Narayan. It forms the setting for most of Narayan's works. Starting with his first novel, Swami and Friends, all but one of his fifteen novels and most of his short stories take place here. Malgudi was a portmanteau of two Bengaluru localities - Malleshwara and Basavana Gudi.

<i>Swami and Friends</i> Novel by Indian author R. K. Narayan

Swami and Friends is the first of a series of novels written by R. K. Narayan (1906–2001), English language novelist from India. The novel, the first book Narayan wrote, is set in British India in a town called Malgudi. The second and third books in the trilogy are The Bachelor of Arts and The English Teacher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. K. Laxman</span> Indian Cartoonist

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Laxman was an Indian cartoonist, illustrator, and humorist. He was best known for his creation The Common Man and for his daily cartoon strip, You Said It in The Times of India, which started in 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Common Man</span> Comic character created by R. K. Laxman

The Common Man is a cartoon character created by Indian author and cartoonist R. K. Laxman. For over a half of a century, the Common Man has represented the hopes, aspirations, troubles and perhaps even foibles of the average Indian, through a daily comic strip, You Said It in The Times of India. The comic was started in 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Cartoon Museum</span> Museum for British cartoons, caricatures and comic strips

The Cartoon Museum is a London museum for British cartoons, caricatures and comic strips, owned and operated by the Cartoon Art Trust. It has a library of over 5,000 books and 4,000 comics. The museum issues catalogues and features a changing display of over 250 exhibits from its collection of over 4,000 original cartoons and prints. The museum is "dedicated to preserving the best of British cartoons, caricatures, comics and animation, and to establishing a museum with a gallery, archives and innovative exhibitions to make the creativity of cartoon art past and present, accessible to all for the purposes of education, research and enjoyment.".

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">S. D. Phadnis</span> Indian cartoonist and illustrator (born 1925)

Shivram Dattatreya Phadnis, known as S. D. Phadnis, is an Indian cartoonist and illustrator. He is known for his captionless and painted cartoons, which mainly featured on magazine covers. The illustrations created by Phadnis for Mohini magazine established a new tradition of Marathi magazine covers. It proved that cartoons can be as charming and visually pleasing as a painting without the support of words. With a career spanning more than 60 years, he has contributed to the Marathi publishing industry and cartooning community as a whole. As of April 2023, he lives and works in Pune.

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Indian Thought Publications is a publisher founded in 1942, in Mysore by R. K. Narayan. Narayan founded the company as he was cut off from England owing to the war and needed an outlet for his works. The first book to be published by the company was Malgudi Days, in 1943. The publishing company followed a short-lived journal that he founded, of the same name. The company is currently managed from a tiny home-office in Chennai by Narayan's granddaughter Bhuvaneswari (Minnie).

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Wagle Ki Duniya is an Indian sitcom that aired on DD National from 1988 to 1990. It was produced by Durga Khote, directed by Kundan Shah, and was based on characters created by noted cartoonist, R. K. Laxman, especially "the common man" about the issues of common middle-class Indian man. It starred Anjan Srivastav as a bumbling sales clerk in a multinational and Bharati Achrekar as his wife.

Thomas Samuel (1925–2012), a.k.a. T. Samuel or Samuval, was a cartoonist from Kerala who published under the name 'Samuel'. He is considered to be the father of box or pocket cartoons in India.

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References

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  3. "Website of R K Laxman museum in Pune launched". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  4. Joshi, Poorva (6 March 2022). "PM Modi inaugurates art gallery dedicated to cartoonist R K Laxman; kin say dream comes true". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  5. "Art Gallery | R K Laxman Museum | Pune". R.K.Laxman Museum. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Datta, Rangan. "RK Laxman Museum in Pune — a legacy for the next generation". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  7. "Photos". R.K.Laxman Museum. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  8. "At Balewadi, a museum dedicated to R K Laxman". The Times of India. 7 March 2022. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  9. "Kin elated after inauguration of RK Laxman art gallery in Pune". Hindustan Times. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  10. "PM Modi to unveil RK Laxman museum, launch Pune Metro on Sunday". www.business-standard.com. 5 March 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  11. rodrigues, james (19 May 2023). "Punekar Gather at R K Laxman Museum in Baner for Museum Day Celebrations". Pune Post. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  12. "From Common Man To Common Woman, RK Laxman's Granddaughter Takes His Work Forward". NDTV.com. Retrieved 14 June 2023.