The Common Man

{{about||the 1975 film|The Common Man (film)|the 2011 film|A Common Man (film)|the song|Common Man}}

{{Infobox comics character

| character_name = The Common Man

| image = Gurera's Tribute to Laxman.jpg

| imagesize = 150

| caption = The Common Man in a tribute to R. K. Laxman by Shekhar Gurera

| alt = The Common Man

| publisher = The Times of India

| debut = You Said It (1951)

| creators = R. K. Laxman

| species = Human

| homeworld = India

}}

The Common Man is a cartoon character created by Indian author and cartoonist R. K. Laxman. For over a half of a century, the Common Man has represented the hopes, aspirations, troubles and perhaps even foibles of the average Indian, through a daily comic strip, You Said It in The Times of India. The comic was started in 1951.{{cite book|last=Laxman|first=r.K|title=The tunnel of time : An autobiography|year=1998|publisher=Penguin books|location=India|isbn=9780140272482|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5s8YAAAAYAAJ}}

When Laxman began to draw cartoons in The Times of India, he attempted to represent different states and cultures in India. In the rush to meet deadlines, he began to draw fewer and fewer background characters, until finally he found only one remaining—the now-familiar Common Man. The Common Man generally acts as a silent witness to all the action in the comic. According to anthropologist Ritu Gairola Khanduri, "Clad in a dhoti and a plaid jacket, the puzzled Common Man is no dupe: his sharp observations miss no detail of the political circus."{{cite journal|author=Khanduri, Ritu Gairola |year=2012|title=Picturing India: Nation, Development and the Common Man.|doi=10.1080/08949468.2012.688416|journal= Visual Anthropology |volume=25|issue=1|pages=303–323|s2cid=143569147}}

Other depictions

{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=300|caption_align=center

| align = left

|image_style = border:none;

|background color =

| title =

| image1 = The Times of India 1988 stamp of India.jpg

| image2 = The Times of India 2013 stamp of India.jpg

| footer = The Common Man featured in 1988 and 2013 commemorative stamps

}}

The Common Man featured in a commemorative postage stamp released by the Indian Postal Service on the 150th anniversary of the Times of India in 1988. It became one of the most recognised feature on The Times of India the largest-circulation English language daily broadsheet newspaper in the world.
On 24 October 2015, Google featured the Common Man on a Google Doodle to honour R. K. Laxman on the occasion of his 94th birthday.{{Cite web |title=R. K. Laxman's 94th Birthday |url=https://doodles.google/doodle/r-k-laxmans-94th-birthday/ |access-date=2022-09-09 |website=www.google.com |language=en}}
The Common Man was the mascot for the low budget airline Air Deccan.{{cite news | last=Bhatia | first=Ritika | title=R K Laxman bows out but lives in the Common Man | newspaper=Business Standard India | date=2015-01-27 | url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/r-k-laxman-bows-out-but-lives-in-the-common-man-115012600792_1.html | accessdate=2016-02-15 | url-status=live | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223231611/http://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/r-k-laxman-bows-out-but-lives-in-the-common-man-115012600792_1.html | archivedate=2016-02-23 }}
The character was adapted into the Indian television series Wagle Ki Duniya on DD National and R K Laxman Ki Duniya on SAB TV.{{cite news|title=Celebs mourn cartoonist RK Laxman|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/Celebs-mourn-cartoonist-RK-Laxman/photostory/46028128.cms|access-date=27 January 2015|work=The Times of India|publisher=The Times Group|date=27 January 2015}}
Salman Rushdie, who grew up in Bombay on a daily fare of Laxman's pocket cartoons, mentions the Common Man in two of his books—his 1995 novel The Moor's Last Sigh and his 2012 autobiography, Joseph Anton.[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Rushdie-and-the-Common-Man/articleshow/46037046.cms Rushdie and the Common Man] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150129130327/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Rushdie-and-the-Common-Man/articleshow/46037046.cms |date=2015-01-29 }}

=Statues=

File:The Common man by R. K. Laxman.jpg, Pune]]

An 8.2 feet high{{cite web|title=The Common Man|url=http://symbiosis.ac.in/symbiosis-society/The-Common-Man.php|publisher=Symbiosis Institute Pune|accessdate=18 December 2013|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219000903/http://symbiosis.ac.in/symbiosis-society/The-Common-Man.php|archivedate=19 December 2013}} bronze statue of "The Common Man" has been erected at the Symbiosis Institute, Pune in front of its Vishwabhavan building. The Common Man has a wisp of white hair that is perpetually standing, leaving him with a bewildered look.{{cite news|title=Statue of common man unveiled|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20011218/nation.htm|accessdate=18 December 2013|newspaper=The Tribune|date=18 December 2001|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018004217/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20011218/nation.htm|archivedate=18 October 2012}}
A statue of The Common Man, created by the sculptor Suresh Sakpal, was installed in 2007 along the sea face on Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan road, Worli seaface, Mumbai.{{cite web|title=Common man along sea face|url=http://mumbaipaused.blogspot.com/2009/10/khan-abdul-ghaffar-khan-road.html|work=Mumbai Paused|accessdate=18 December 2013|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131222161305/http://mumbaipaused.blogspot.com/2009/10/khan-abdul-ghaffar-khan-road.html|archivedate=22 December 2013}}{{cite news|last=naik|first=Yogesh|title=Common man retires hurt|url=http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/others/Common-man-retires-hurt/articleshow/16221190.cms|accessdate=18 December 2013|newspaper=Mumbai Mirror|date=15 May 2012|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219004124/http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/others/Common-man-retires-hurt/articleshow/16221190.cms|archivedate=19 December 2013}}{{cite news|title=Putting the common man back in place|url=http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=3&contentid=2012060820120608020221440205477e3|accessdate=18 December 2013|newspaper=Ahmedabad Mirror|date=8 June 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219010448/http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=3&contentid=2012060820120608020221440205477e3|archivedate=19 December 2013}}{{cite web|last=Kadam|first=Vikas|title=Mirror - A short video on the common man statue|date=18 November 2010 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL30QwhkShg|publisher=You tube|accessdate=18 December 2013|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140612053451/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL30QwhkShg|archivedate=12 June 2014}}
A statue of The Common Man is erected at the entrance of R. K. Laxman Museum at Balewadi, Pune.{{cite news |last1=Datta |first1=Rangan |title=RK Laxman Museum in Pune — a legacy for the next generation |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/places/rk-laxman-museum-in-pune-a-legacy-for-the-next-generation/cid/1906377 |access-date=25 July 2023 |issue=My Kolkata |publisher=The Telegraph}}

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20040629141014/http://www.hindu.com/yw/2004/06/12/stories/2004061200060200.htm Genesis of "The Common Man"] The Hindu
{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20040405114657/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2003/09/04/stories/2003090400360200.htm Article with note on other depictions]}} Frontline magazine

Category:The Times of India

Category:1951 comics debuts

Category:Gag-a-day comics

Category:Humor comics

Category:Comics characters introduced in 1951

Category:Fictional Indian people

Category:Male characters in comics