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R.K. Laxman Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Laxman was born in Mysore in 1924. He began cartooning for the Free Press Journal, a newspaper in Bombay, in 1947, soon after he graduated from the University of Mysore. Six months later he joined the Times of India as staff cartoonist, where he enjoyed a prolific career over fifty years. R.K. Laxman wrote and published numerous short stories, essays and travel articles, some of which have been collected in the book, The Distorted Mirror. He also authored three works of fiction, The Hotel Riviera, The Messenger and Servants of India, all of which have been published by Penguin Books. Penguin has also published several collections of Laxman?s cartoons in the series The Best of Laxman and Laugh with Laxman. The Tunnel of Time, Laxman?s autobiography, is also available from Penguin. R.K. Laxman won numerous awards for his cartoons, including Asia?s top journalism award, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, in 1984. The University of Marathwada and the University of Delhi conferred honorary Doctor of Literature degrees on him. In 2005, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Vibhushan. R.K. Laxman passed away in Pune on 26 January 2015. He was 93.

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