PM inaugurates art gallery dedicated to RK Laxman in Pune

PUNE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a museum-cum-art gallery dedicated to veteran cartoonist R K Laxman and his brother, writer R K Narayan, in Balewadi on Sunday. The project was initiated by Pune Municipal Corporation in 2016.
The art gallery has two automated rooms, one with information about a day in the life of R K Laxman and the other dedicated to nine locations of Malgudi in miniature from Malgudi Days, a collection of short stories by R K Narayan.
The famed cartoonist’s story, narrated from the point of a common man, gives an overview of how he built his career from childhood. The walls have been decorated with his cartoons.
A walk-through in the gallery ends in a hologram of the ‘Common Man’. Actor Boman Irani did the voice-over for the guided tour in English while Dilip Prabhawalkar did it in Marathi.
Usha Laxman, R K Laxman’s daughter-in-law, was instrumental in building this facility. “We have made this gallery like an institution and we plan to tie up with various universities. It will be an open laboratory for students and artists,” she said.
Mayor Murlidhar Mohol said some legends guide us towards betterment. “They inspire us to do good work and play a key role in social well-being. R K Laxman was one such legend...An art gallery dedicated to his works will show future generations a path,” he added.