Book Review – The Very Best of the Common Man, R.K.Laxman

Politics! 

Said to be the second oldest profession in the world, bearing a close resemblance to the first, politics has always been subjected to searing scrutiny and bitter ridicule. Especially in a highly populated country like India, politicians have been offering a lot of free ‘entertainment’ to the public, next only to cinema and cricket. Stupid statements, senseless actions, scams, and scandals – you ask for it and the Indian politicians only feel obliged to deliver it for your ‘pleasure’.
 

Cartoonists are that rare breed of people who make the caricatured images of theirs speak more than a thousand acerbic words mocking the actions of the politicians. Especially those cartons that appear daily in the newspapers seem like the oasis amidst all the chaotic news articles. R.K. Laxman is the doyen of the cartoonist profession in India. Having had a prolific career that spanned more than half a century, he is one cartoonist who can really claim to have seen it all and drawn it all.
 

This book contains some hundred plus cartoons of Laxman that have withstood the test of time. A mere glimpse at the cartoons and you will realize that our politicians have remained as pretentious, as egoistic, and as dumb as ever. Indulgence in boastful talks, broken promises, opportunistic behaviors have all been the bane of Indian politicians always. Hence some of the satiric jibes that Mr.Laxman had aimed at the politicians of old remain relevant enough for our ‘leaders’ of these days as well.
 

Leaders that visit their constitutions only during election campaigns, who don’t think twice before throwing senseless percentages and figures without showing any real progress on ground, the servile acolytes who need to flatter their bosses even during their visits to places hit by natural disasters – Laxman has drawn them all, keeping his ‘Common Man’ – a lovable bald old man – as a silent observer.
 

Just a complaint though. The cartoons have all been published on one side while the opposite side is used for a caption of only a line or two. Either they have opted to present the book so due to the poor, thin quality of the paper that could have made the images on different pages look overlapping and thus messy. Or, they could have done so to make this book appear in a decent size. But this seems to be a blatant wastage that the publishers could have very much avoided.
 

As for the content, a thoroughly enjoyable book and a collector’s treasure!