R.K. Laxman was an Indian cartoonist and illustrator best known for his comic strip character "The Common Man". He was born in 1921 in Mysore and had a long career drawing political cartoons for various newspapers. Some of his most notable works included creating the mascot Gattu for Asian Paints in 1954 and his comic strip in 1957 featuring "The Common Man" who represented ordinary Indians. Laxman received several honors for his work including the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan awards from the Government of India. He died in 2015 in Pune at the age of 93.