Brushing Up The Years: A Cartoonists History Of India, 1947 2004 by R.K. Laxman

Brushing Up The Years: A Cartoonists History Of India, 1947 2004 Reviews

• 
  Elsa Rajan Pradhananga

  I just completed a third reread and by now my copy of this book of cartoons is chock full of side notes and references. Brushing Up The Years presents a concise political history of India since its independence through witty and sometimes scurrilous cartoons.
  
  In many of his works, R.K.Laxman drew PM Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, head and shoulders above the sidekicks who surrounded them. During his tenure PM Rajiv Gandhi was under spotlight for flying abroad too often to attend summits. We now have one authoritarian political leader way larger than life and he happens to be a frequent flyer too. All a part of image building. In one of the cartoons drawn after the Ayodhya riots, an incdecessive PM Narasimha Rao is shown standing outside his window on a top floor unable to take the leap and a decade later we had an infamously mum PM, Manmohan Singh.
  
  Many of the cartoons are shown from the common man's point of view. For the uninitiated, R.K.Laxman's common man is a perpetually bewildered elderly bispectacled man in a chequered coat and a dhoti, out in most frames of the cartoons to represent the concerns and aspirations of an average Indian. The poor fellow been through a lot. He is doubtful about the intentions of politicians and sceptical about 'developments'.
  
  The book conveys a general notion that we've come a long way since 1947. But again, not much has changed for the common man. A great companion to learning modern Indian history.
• 
  Ian Laird

  The political cartoonist R K Laxman is familiar to me as he is the brother of my favourite author R K Narayan. Laxman illustrated a number of his brother’s books. Laxman had a lengthy career from 1947 (Independence) to the 2000s, drawing almost exclusively for the Times of India. This survey of his work (300 cartoons) amounts to a history of the country during this period, not just a political history but an economic and social commentary.
  
  A number of themes emerge: political tumult, economic mis-steps and bureaucratic nonsense. Many of the cartoons feature the Nehru–Gandhi dynasty. Laxman lampooned inaugural Prime Minister Nehru for his ambitious long term plans which failed to quite live up to their promise. His long time in office was punctuated by conflicts with China and Pakistan and domestic unrest, notably in Kashmir.
  
  Nehru’s daughter, Indira Gandhi, was a gigantic figure in Indian politics: Laxman highlighted her controlling ways, indeed an over weaning authoritarianism, a belief her vision was best for the country and being above the rule of law, especially in her use of emergency powers. She had a hand in all Congress matters, down to personally vetting all possible party candidates. Remarkably, even days in jail and whiffs of corruption did not affect her triumphant return to power, until the she was gunned down by her own Sikh bodyguard.
  
  Indira Gandhi’s son Rajiv is apparently reluctant to actually be a politician, which may have been genuine, but then Laxman focussed on his propensity to swan around international gatherings when his attention was needed at home. Laxman completes the picture of a Nehru-Gandhi dynasty with the coming to prominence of Sonia Gandhi, Rajiv’s widow, an Italian by birth, seriously considered as a potential leader herself (by others, but did she actually want to?) but preferring to remain a sort-of behind the scenes Congress elder.
  
  The dynasty was punctuated by interregnums of non-Congress leaders, often squabbling veteran politicians. Interestingly enough, even though there are few examples of Manmohan Singh in the collection Laxman has a charitable view of him in his role as Finance Minister responsible for the economic liberalisation of the country and later as Prime Minister.
  
  Laxman’s iconic everyman figure, the Common Man, appears early on and consistently thereafter, a shorthand way to express quizzicality and resignation. I enjoyed Laxman’s Common Man cartoons
  The Very Best of the Common Man which is a lot lighter and more droll than this collection. In fact I was struck by how Brushing Up the Years, while often sardonic, humorous and gently mocking, was overall quite a dark and perhaps even depressing insight into the path of Indian history since 1947, because poverty, inequality and social problems remain as they always have, despite undoubted material progress in some ways. Among the great many fine Laxman cartoons there is one where the Common Man is at the open door of the Indian Space Centre at the time of the Man on the Moon Project. Looking for a suitable astronaut, one of the boffins turns to his colleagues as he points to the Common Man and says: ‘This is our man! He can survive without water, food, air, light, shelter…’
  
  Essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the real sentiments of Indian life in the second half of the twentieth century. PS: My copy purchased in Mysore, 18 November 2013.
• 
  Soham Chakraborty

  'Common Man' is an overused, over-beaten and always overlooked specimen in the great country of India. Common man is everywhere - he is omnipresent - and his power or influence ends with his omnipresence, He doesn't wield any power with his presence, he goes where he needs to go, where he must go for survival. He is not stoic, he is always moving, always observing, always contemplating the surroundings. And most of the time, common man is utterly flabbergasted when he observes the country's politics and bemused with the personalities in the grand stage of politics. Common man is observant - his principal virtue - who also ponders over his observations. When economic well-being of the country declines, common man worries, because it hits him hard. Common man at times is frustrated, because despite of his best efforts, things just don't go in his way. Common man is frequently - if not often - surprised, seeing the hilarious antics of the great purveyors of India's democracy.
  
  Common man doesn't change. We all know it. Across generations, civilizations, countries, the common man stays the same as he once was. Here also, common man has the same checked coat he wore when India got independence and he keeps wearing it through the turmoils of democratic politics; through the dictatorial regime of Indira Gandhi, through the liberalized India of P. V. Narashima Rao and also through the shining India of Vajpayee. However, when financial situations tumble, his coat gets shabby and dirty; torn at the sleeves. His hope doesn't change as well, maintaining a neat straight line.
  
  This common man is witness to every historic, non-historic, significant and bland happenings of the country. He sees the rose-in-lapel Prime Minister Nehru, who started with much hope, before being bowed down under the pressure of his extravagant promises and ambitious projects. After governing the country for more than a decade, he offered to step down, declaring excessive red-tapeism was holding up progress. His party, Congress, vehemently persuaded him to stay. Through the lens of the common man we see that five more years down the line, Nehru became the government -singer, instrumentalist, music director, producer and orchestrator of the cabinet - as he took more and more portfolios himself, turning rest of his colleagues to mute agents of appreciation or in worst case, just spectators.
  
  The next significant event in Indian politics happens after Nehru, when Indira Gandhi becomes the prime minister.
  
  This particular section contains most number of cartoons in the book. In this section, the common man finds himself getting less and less space, compared to his great prime minister. After all, common man has to give away as much space as possible to Indira Gandhi, who unceremoniously declared emergency in independent India, who used to hand pick Chief ministers for Congress led states, who ably alienated all leaders in her party projecting herself as the supreme leader. While several dissidents were born due to Indira's autocratic style of governance, they kept themselves busy with infighting. During the emergency, freedom of expression went for a toss, including Laxman's cartoons. The media was forced to report only good, bubbling reports about country and economy. In this context, Laxman sketched an immortal comic which is the cover picture of this book. It shows a newspaper whose front page his vivid, exciting headlines that read 'Fine', 'Great', 'Very Good', 'Very Happy', 'Plenty', 'Very Rosy', 'Marvelous'. However the common man found himself buried under the newspaper because he had to find out where the real news was. None of the news which depicted Indira and her government in a bad light were allowed in India under emergency.
  
  In 1977 general elections, a loosely coupled faction of myriad political parties came into existence, under a common umbrella - already worn out at places - of 'Janata Dal'. They formed a government, where parasitic politicians of varying ideologies and policies leeched as much blood as possible from the common man. Some disastrous budgets saw light of the day. In one railway budget, government introduced a 200% hike in season ticket fares, prompting Laxman to draw a cartoon where the common man wrapped railway budget documents to save his modesty, because he had to sell his checked coat, shirt and pant for the season ticket. In the next elections, another Indira Gandhi government came into power, who in the interim period of absence had bolstered political capital, often with the help of innovative ideas like supporting her once dissident Congress member, thereby creating a rift in opposition unity.
  
  Next, the common man witnesses the humble introduction of dynastic politics through Rajiv Gandhi - Indira's son, and Sonia Gandhi - Indira's daughter in law. One cannot forget Sanjay Gandhi as well. This string of incidents, which were concocted to look like co-incidence, cemented the dynastic politics, disguised under the well-greased political machination known as Congress. Rajiv Gandhi turned out to be more of an international statesman than prime minister of the country. While the basic infrastructural facilities went for a tumble, he introduced lofty goals and over-ambitious missions to accomplish those goals. Another trend came into picture. It involved a ministers, often a group of ministers taking an aerial view of disaster hit areas. While ministers and dignitaries safely saw from the sky where birds fly, common man stayed inundated under the water, when his home and livelihood sinking to the bottom. Also, everything in the country started to get its name from Nehru-Gandhi clan. One cartoon shows someone asking for directions to the station and another man instructing him to get into 'Rajiv Marg', then 'Indira Circle', turn toward 'Nehru Square', followed by 'Rajiv ...'. Along came the biggest scam to hit India - The Bofors scam - which unsurprisingly has been surpassed by light years, aided by the more recent scams. Rajiv Gandhi devoted a bulk of his time to foreign policy and when calamities hit home, indulged in image building exercise.
  
  Meanwhile, another significant incident had happened. Right wing party, BJP and their offshoots demolished Babri Mosque, claiming the site was home to a Hindu temple, years back. A polluted discourse of communal politics followed, resulting in Hindu - Muslim clashes and riots. Then came another Congress government, led by P. V. Narashima Rao. Tipped to solve innumerable problems in the country, the government fared relatively good. They also unleashed a historic budget in 1994, whose beneficiaries include this reviewer as well. India followed the path of economic liberalization. Here Laxman's pencils drew another cartoon which stood and will stand the test of time. It shows, then finance minister Dr. ManMohan Singh, climbing a stiff hill toward prosperity, with prime minister following suit, who then is followed by none other than the common man. The hierarchy of travelling the hill is significant because it shows that the common man was, is and will be the last one to get there, which inevitably has been happening so far with no signal of changing in foreseeable future. It also shows a happier general population because they were enticed and entertained by different choices. One cartoon shows the common man and his wife observing a frail ManMohan Singh with a harmonium, which read 'Budget'. The wife of the common man, shares a hopeful reflection, ' Whatever it is I like the tune and he sings better than his predecessors.' The common man is silent as usual. The next cartoons indicate that although numbers like GDP and Inflation showed favorable trend, the overall economic condition of the poor people was unchanged. Along with this, for first time, a Congress government, led by a non Gandhi-Nehru person, completed its tenure. By then India had completed more than 50 years of her independence.
  
  Meanwhile, the country was hit by scam after scam by politicians. One particular cartoon, a personal favorite, shows India infested by germs, all of which are lookalike of avaricious politicians.
  
  What follows next should be a warning to our generation of politics-savvy folks. It shows an array of cult figures being worshiped which includes the illustrious Jayalalitha in Tamil Nadu, Bal Thackrey in Maharashtra, Laloo in Bihar, Mayawait in UP. Again, not unsurprisingly India is still now plagued with 'hero worshiping cult personality syndrome' of politicians, which includes current prime minister, Narendra Modi as well.
  
  Jargons like 'Horse Trading' and 'Coalition government' came into existence. Along came electoral malpractices like booth capturing, rigging, unaccounted money spending and money hoarding. All in all, the common man was reduced to an object of ignominy, used by politicians to trample on in post-election time. This abusive disregard of democracy including it's electorate and the practice of getting away with impunity after committing an obvious crime or fraud by finding a loophole in democratic norms, created some of the most venerable figures in Indian politics. This included Chief Election Commissioners. The legend in this regard is no one but T. N. Seshan, who was later honored with the Magsaysay award. It showed the trend in Indian politics where the guardians of government needed to be kept in check and also schooled by honest bureaucrats. Not unsurprisingly, again, this trend has now become a pattern. India now has a galaxy of figures and bodies which start with the alphabet C, including but not limited to,
  
  Chief Election Commissioner
  Chief Vigilance Officer
  Chief Information Officer
  Chief Justice of India
  
  India, the one that we know now, is pretty much kept in check not by government and elected representatives, who goad the common man for votes before elections and dutifully forgets till the next one. Laxman in this context drew another cartoon which shows that on the day of elections, politicans across all spectrum, bemoan to the common man with folded hands and trembling voice and on the very next day, kicks him away with vituperation, before disappearing into palatial houses. Pretty much, if their power of the aforementioned 'C' individuals is reduced now, our loved democracy will crumble.
  
  In this book, the BJP government, which came into existence in later periods of 1990, also got their fair share of lashes by Laxman's satirical cartoons. L.K. Advani is always seen with a crown on his head and a Hindu saint (or so it appears), trident in hand, kept an eye on him. What turned out was that the BJP government was more liberal than Congress in economic policies and was led by a man who successfully kept BJP's internal communal elements at bay and steered the country as best as he could. Even Laxman didn't give him Hindu touches or polarities that are inextricably linked with BJP leaders. The amiable prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was a man true to his words and policies, which included the Nuclear weapons testing, initiation of peace talks with Pakistan and a lavish introduction of the plan to connect Indian highways. However, the BJP government was also plagued by horse trading and scams and futile policies. In one cartoon, we see the common man and his wife walking by, the common man's expression of bemusement and his wife's reflections showed the naked truth of Indian democracy. She reflected that the BJP leaders are trying to create a stable government via horse trading of MPs, sitting in a stable. It also showed Vajpayee floating a concept of dual citizenship for NRIs (Non Resident Indians). Here we see the NRIs, sporting fine suits and trousers, pockets loaded with cash and 'Resident Indians' wearing a worn out, shabby shirt who couldn't afford a new one.
  
  This inequality was rampant and crossed all walks of life and threatened to create an unjust country, devoid of the founding principles of India. This was later proved to be true by India's foremost journalist, P. Sainath. We see and will continue to see two facets of India. One India, that stays in sanitized apartments guarded by listless people of a kind, who are drawn from the ranks of that same kind who have been refused to enter into the apartment. In another glaring example of inequality, Sainath showed something outrageously cruel. We learn that Lakme Fashion Week - a celebration of money and more money - which was happening in India's economic capital, Mumbai, attracted more than 500 journalists. And at the same time, neighboring Vidharbha region in same state of Maharashtra, was shivering with a spate of farmer suicides. However, hardly any journalist, except a few, came to report that news. More ironically, the farmers who were committing suicides were cotton farmers and the theme of the Lakme Fashion Week was also, cotton. This pattern of inequality has now encompassed the entire country, where we see that India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani owns a palace like Antilla, surrounded by slum dwellers of Mumbai.
  
  However, in this book, we don't get to see all those instances of inequality, because various local politicians took over the podium and therefore the pages. And this is not an anthology of Laxman's work. It is a selection of his cartoons by the publisher of this book. Those politicians started implementing all kinds of ill-judged plans in an ill-conceived manner. The likes of these included Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh, Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, Laloo Yadav in Bihar. Again, in this scenario, common man takes a backseat - but when doesn't he - as he witnesses the spectacular act of Indian democracy, staged at the grand platform of New Delhi. We also see the rise of dynasty once again, led by Sonia Gandhi and her son, Rahul Gandhi. The good finance minister of 1994, Dr. Singh became the prime minister in 2004 but he was reduced to a puppet of Gandhi dynasty and therefore in spite of his best intentions, the government started performing miserably after first 3 years of his prime minister-ship. Indian conglomerates and well-off sections of the society aimed for more liberal, more unequal society and the common man, despite tireless churning of GDP, PPP (Purchase power parity), CPI (Consumer Price Index) data, stayed where he he was in 1947.
  
  The last page of the book contains a cartoon drawn at sixtieth anniversary of independence which shows a politician asking for votes claiming his work hasn't finished yet and he will provide food, water, electricity, roads to poor people and an audience hoping promises will be fulfilled this time. Perhaps it indicates that common man is eternally hopeful of better days, a scene which hasn't changed since 1947, much to the chagrin of our romanticized democracy.
  
  R. K. Laxman was a genius at his craft and he drew cartoons describing every aspect of Indian society. Few others of his ilk are as decorated as he was, except Abu Abraham, another famed cartoonist. Laxman espoused the cause of common man and was an equal opportunity offender to all parties, all politicians. His core objective was to enlighten the readers but also to cause outrage in their minds. He also showed a sensitivity towards politicians and ably justifying them, appreciating them, when the occasion demanded. His satire was backed by sensitivity to all and sensibility in everything. He was not merely a comedian or satirist. He was a figure who used satire to draw attention to an injustice, used his craft to target people who were more powerful than others, who had become more powerful than others by exploiting those same others. Humor, cartoon, was a tool in his hand, a scathing tool which demanded honesty from power and politics, a brutal equipment accounting for the people left unaccounted by people who should have accounted. His humor provided an outlet for the wounded society, tried to heal it with hilarity. He hung the uncommon man at his most vulnerable position - money, power and politics. His cartoons faced censors, were banned but when they emerged they were as penetrating as ever, towering over the powerful, sensitive towards the marginalized. His cartoons didn't spare the comfortable coterie of Indian middle class as well, who are not as well-off as they believe them to be but also not as marginalized as the common man. His cartoons played against a context which can be used as a mirror for inward reflections, a chamber for unheard echoes in ourselves.
  
  To end it, as R. K. Laxman had said -
  
  [The Common Man] from India can survive without water, food, light, air, shelter!
  
  I am grateful to our politicians. They have not taken care of the country, but me.
  
  Frankly, our politics is so sad that if I had not been a cartoonist, I would have committed suicide.
  
  I think anarchy would have suited us better.
  
  My common man is omnipresent. He’s been silent all these 50 years. He simply listens.
  
  
• 
  Manasa

  I have had this book for ages but never had the inclination to read it. But the recent events in the country had sparked an interest in me to follow quite a few cartoonists on the social media who have been candid about the events. While these cartoonists have shown us the voice of the common man rising dissent, I wanted to find out what it was like in the earlier years.
  
  "Brushing up the years" shows the common man being an observer of the political events that have shaped the nation today. The book contains some of the significant events that took place since independence. Some of the strips, which were censored from publishing by the ruling government then, have also been included.
  
  There are also some comments from the man himself about the strips he drew, but they are not in detail. I could only think about the collection of Peanuts I read recently, "Celebrating 80 years", where Mr. Schulz goes into the details of his drawings.
  
  The book gives a fine perspective of the common man's struggles in a country with unstable government and acts a preface to anyone who wants to know about the political history since independence.
• 
  Santhosh

  This actually acts as a summary of the last 60 years, almost as a quirky and interesting way of reading India's history since independence but in the voice and perspective of the common man. Which isn't a bad way of looking back at all I say.
• 
  Rahul Vaidya

  Very interesting history of modern India(post independence), depicted through witty cartoons. Thoroughly enjoyed!
• 
  Abhilasha

  Awesome!
• 
  Saranya B

  An interesting and satirical take on the history of India. Thoroughly enjoyed knowing his perspective of things.
• 
  Anirban

  I have always felt that the so called "INTELLECTUAL BRIGADE" of India chooses to see only those which doesnt hurt their eyes. In the process a certain political group, or a certain section, or a stray incident gets the big Headline bashing whereas points requiring close scrutiny goes scot free.
  Recently, I bought a book called "Brushing Up the Years: A Cartoonist's History of India" is a collection of the cartoons drawn by the legendary cartoonist R.K. Laxman. In this book he actually "PORTRAYS" what a Common man goes through in his bid for just living his life. His brush left no party, be it left or the centre, unscathed, no incident, which hurt the common man, go unnoticed. A true common man, he felt the need to portray every common man���s trouble without seeing the color or the creed, or the amount of vote the issue might fetch. No wonder his HERO(if we may call the dhoti clad old gentleman appearing in his slides as one) was called a Common Man.
  I wish the media, or the intellectuals of this country stop being selective in their criticism, and for once actually come down to the pedestal of a common man to see how fast a 100 rupee earned gets spent leaving a man empty handed with a head full of worries.
  My point : If you want to criticise, speak out against everything you see thats bad like Mr. Laxman did. If you want to be selective, better keep your mouth shut.
  
• 
  Veena

  The book is a compilation of the RK Laxman's famous cartoon "The Common Man" over the years. It takes us through the historical (majorly political) landscape in India since the independence. Through the Gandhi lineage, the formations of political sects, to the modern day politics with a hint of candour and wit that is so typical of the Common Man and Laxman. Some of Laxman's cartoon which remain unpublished as a result of being censored during the emergency are also published in the book. A commentary also appears next to the displayed cartoon rejigging our memory of historical events.
  
  All in all, a light read for those days when you want to rekindle your childhood days of reading the Common Man in the newspapers.
• 
  Meghaditya Roy Chaudhury

  R. K. Laxman truly captured the changing dynamics on the Indian political arena through the eye of a common man. The book combines his work done since the time of independence to the last one a few years back. With simple drawings, witty remarks and a presence of the silent common man, he portrays the contemporary Indian history in a way that no one could do better. A must read for everyone who'd like to cherish the story of this young democracy in a jovial mood.
• 
  Arathi Mohan

  The most delightful way to brush up on your history. Seeing India evolve through the eyes of one of the best cartoonists ever. The subtlety with which he has used the ever-perplexed but silently suffering Common Man to show political instability, economic distress and corruption is so acute that it leaves a lasting impression in the mind of the viewer. The collection of some of the best works of a genius par compare.
• 
  Anand Ganapathy

  A compilation of 60 years of cartoons by India's most brilliant political cartoonist. Plenty of the cartoons are relevant till date. I wish Laxman had been able to continue sketching - old age and a paralytic stroke have prevented him from doing so. But his 'you said it ' in the Times of India was one of the main reasons many people bought the newspaper
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  Yamini Ahluwalia

  RK Laxman is the wittiest cartoonist and humorist in India and this collection of some of the cartoons done by him take us through political history of the country since Independence. A great coffee table book. These must be inserted in the chapters of our history books to pep them up.
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  Amaan Ahmad

  Nostalgic and showed that India hasn't progressed since independence. Politicians are same, people are same and mentalities are same. Unchanged. Sad and tragic. R. K. Laxman was indeed a creative man.
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  Georgie Mathew

  A humorous and sensible take on the state of affairs of the nation post-independence. Must read.
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  Donee

  Truth over a time is hilarious.
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  Ravi Gangwani

  Excellent !
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  Harshit Gupta

  The genius of RK Laxman gets seen in this one. A wonderful collection that shows a glimpse of the entire history of independent India.
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  Ganesh Sanal

  If I were ever to teach post-independence Indian history to anyone, I would use a long presentation filled with the contents of this book. This was such a wonderful read and the experience fall just short of being then and there. The person who decided to put these cartoons in chronological order deserves a big salute.
  
  R. K.Laxman is undoubtedly the best cartoonist I've ever come across. His drawings are sharp but his messages are sharper still. A page long article can be written on each of his works but the experience can only be felt. It's a wonder how he makes creations of this depth when he have to finish one every single day. An absolute genius.