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Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Laxman was born and educated in Mysore. Soon after he graduated from the University of Mysore, he began cartooning for the Free Press Journal, a newspaper in Bombay. Six months later he joined the Times of India as staff cartoonist, a newspaper he has been with for over fifty years. He has written and published numerous short stories, essays and travel articles, some of which are collected here. He has also written three works of fiction, The Hotel Riviera, The Messenger and Servants of India, all published by Penguin Books. Penguin has also published several collections of Laxman’s cartoons in the series The Best of Laxman and Laugh with Laxman. The Tunnel of Time, Laxman’s autobiography, is available from Penguin as well. R.K. Laxman was awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan by the Government of India. The University of Marathwada conferred an honorary Doctor of Literature degree on him. He has won many awards for his cartoons, including Asia’s top journalism award, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, in 1984.