TRIBUTE// Eminent cartoonist R K Laxman, creator of the “Common Man” with his devastating swipes at politicians and contemporary times died on January 26, 2015, after suffering a multi-organ failure. He was 94. Laxman, is survived by writer wife Kamala, son Srinivas and daughter-in-law Usha. A Padma Vibhushan, Laxman also won the Magsaysay award in 1984 for journalism, literature and creative communication arts. Born in Mysore on October 24, 1921, Laxman was the youngest of the six sons of a school headmaster and the only one among his siblings to share fame with his brother, writer R K Narayan. Growing up in the city’s idyllic environs, Laxman was influenced by the scathing caricatures of the New Zealand-born Sir David Low, then the pre-eminent caricaturist of the Western world. Noted cartoonists described him as an outstanding, towering figure, who always had his finger on the pulse of the nation. “India will miss you R K Laxman. We are grateful to you for adding the much-needed humour in our lives and always bringing smiles on our faces,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.