R.K. Laxman, who passed away on Monday, had a stint as a cartoonist during his student days for the popular Kannada humour magazine Koravanji .
Editor M. Shivaram (pen name Rashi), an allopath and eminent humorist, started the magazine in 1942 and Laxman designed its logo, besides contributing to it for the next four years.
The late Dr. Shivaram’s son, M. Shivakumar, recalls that it was another humorist, Na. Kasturi, who spotted Laxman’s talent and suggested that his works be used in Koravanji .
“Even after he shifted to Mumbai, he retained a link with the family. He would come home for dinner when he came to Bengaluru,” recalled Mr. Shivakumar.
Kannada humour writer and satirist A. Ra. Mitra, who also contributed to Koravanji in its heyday, recalls that Laxman came as a “blessing” in those days when cartoonists were not easy to find.
M.S. Sriram, writer and professor at Indian Institute of Management in Bengaluru, translated Laxman’s Idle Hours and parts of it were serialised in Aparanji , a magazine modelled after Koravanji and edited by Mr. Shivakumar. “I met him at West End hotel during one of his visits to Bengaluru and he had suggestions to offer on translation and use of language,” remembers Prof. Sriram. “We had a pleasant one-hour walk, but it ended abruptly when another friend came to meet him. He had no time for niceties!”
Mr. Mitra remembers an anecdote during Laxman’s felicitation in the city. “An officer sitting in the front row got a call and started talking, even as Laxman began his speech. He simply stopped the speech and waited for the call to end. When the officer realised his folly and looked embarrassed, Laxman said: ‘Go on… your time is important, we can wait.” The officer later apologised to him, of course.
