Rasipuram Krishnaswami Laxman (1921 – 2015) or simply RK Laxman, is no common man but he has been immortalised by his creation ‘The Common Man’. A well known cartoonist and illustrator, Laxman has made over 35,000 illustrations in a career spanning over 70 years. After his death on Jan 26, 2015, his daughter in law Usha Laxman took up the mammoth task of compiling the entire work and showcasing it in a museum.
This led to the formation of the RK Laxman Museum in the Balwadi area of Pune. A project of the Pune Municipal Corporation, it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2022. The museum narrates the story of how his pen and brush along with his sense of humor have turned him into a legend.
Creator and the creation
The museum comes in with several galleries along with two audio visual rooms. A statue of Common Man perched on the terrace welcomes visitors to the museum complex. As Laxman’s archive is huge, a portion of it is displayed outside the museum building. The inner side of the boundary wall of the museum complex has also been converted into a gallery, housing Laxman’s cartoons on Maharashtra Police and on his immortal creation The Common Man.
Galleries outside the museum complex
The life-size portrait of the common man welcomes the visitors into the museum building. The welcome note reads, “A grand welcome to the RK 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. You will get to see his work from childhood in different forms and also glimpses of his personal life which you might not have seen or heard before. It is going to be an enlightening and entertaining journey and nostalgic memories for many. So, get ready to enjoy the world of humour, amazement and entertainment.”
A visitor explores the RK Laxman Museum
The museum is divided into several galleries and one of them is dedicated to the life of RK Laxman. This section deals with his childhood and his relationship with his elder brother, the famous writer RK Narayan. Laxman’s career began with the illustrations for his elder brother’s books. The caricature section has caricatures of eminent personalities whom the artist had admired and met. There is also a section dedicated to lord Ganesha where Laxman has portrayed the elephant god in various forms. Another section is dedicated to Laxman’s cartoons on children.
But probably the most interesting gallery is dedicated to Laxman’s favourite bird – crow. He has always found them intelligent and mischievous. Laxaman has spent a large part of his life observing and studying them. He could even identify them individually and even had names for them. Apart from sketches, the gallery has several models of crows busy in all sorts of activities.
Model at the crows gallery
The museum also has two audio-visual rooms carrying out two different shows. The first is a documentary on RK Laxman. The second is a light-and-sound show, complete with models of the town of Malgudi, immortalised by his elder brother RK Narayan. The audio-visual hall also exhibits Laxman’s last sketch. It was drawn on 20 December 2014. It is about India’s Mars Mission. It marks the hundred days of Mangalyaan on Martian orbit. It shows the common man carrying the national flag towards the red planet. It also contains a note to his son Arunan, who works for ISRO.
Laxman’s granddaughter Rimanika Laxman, has kept the family legacy alive and has created the Common Woman. The new character will show the perspective of a woman in society and the cartoon strip will tackle gender issues — and in the process will keep the family flag flying.
Travel information:
The model of Malgudi Village, which is part of the light and sound show
- The museum is open 10am-5 pm. Closed on Mondays
- Entry fee ₹50 for museum and ₹150 for museum and light and sound show. Tickets are available online and also on spot
- To know more, click here
