When a Common Man gave back to his Creator

Legendary late cartoonist R K Laxman whose creation lsquoThe Common Manrsquo cast a keen eye on daily goingson and political shenanigans with gentle wit and wisdom has a museum dedicated to his life and work at Balewadi in PuneLaxman passed away in 2015 A new and delightful addition rolled into the space on Dussehra Tuesday to go with the treasure trove of Laxman memorabilia Ballal Atre a Laxman fan donated his black Ambassador formerly R K Laxmanrsquos car to the museum Atre drove the car from his Thane residence to the R K Laxman Museum in Balewadi on Dussehra dayAtre said ldquoI bought this black Ambassador from an Andheri dealer in January 2007 I was crazy about Enfield Bullet bikes and Ambassador cars I knew that this was R K Laxmanjirsquos car First I loved Ambassadors and secondly it had been none other than the iconic cartoonistrsquos car I was so keen to have it I went to the dealership and bought the black Ambassador at the quoted pricerdquoR K Laxmanrsquos political cartoons on display at the museumldquoThe car was given to the cartoonist by his employer After some years it was auctioned and replaced by a new black Ambassador That is probably how it landed up at a dealerrdquo explained UshaAfter that buy Atre 57 said ldquoI took it to my friendrsquos workshop in Girgaon and we worked on oiling etc Just a little that was needed to get the car in mint condition I then took it to my homerdquoSince then the bank employee set to retire next year has been driving the car ldquoI am the quintessential Laxman Common Manrdquo he laughedBallal AtreHe said ldquoI could feel the spirit of Laxmanji when I sat in the driverrsquos seat I had grown up on the Common Man cartoons When I was little my grandfather would actually explain the meaning of some of themrdquo he laughedAtre added ldquoI say the simple solid Ambassador as a car mirrored R K Laxmanjirsquos work direct and yet packing a punchrdquoUsha Laxman laughed as she said ldquoI guess that sums it up nicelyrdquo Usha is the chairperson of the R K Laxman Foundation which also manages the museum She explained ldquoI had put up on the Facebook page that we were looking for memorabilia for the museum Soon after I was alerted by a message stating words to the effect lsquoHave sirrsquos carrsquo That is how we got in touch with Atre and this entire story unfolded On Dussehra he actually drove from Thane to Pune and donated the car We were so touched It has pride of place in the museumrdquoLoved drivingUsha who is R K Laxmanrsquos daughterinlaw added ldquoDad R K Laxman loved black Ambassadors Not white which was the more common colour it was always black for himrdquo He had a few black Ambassadors in his lifetime She also recalled that ldquoDad always drove the car himself till of course he got a stroke in 2003 and could not drive after that Before he would not employ a driver He loved driving We as a family have also travelled all the way to Mysore in Dadrsquos black Ambassador with him at the wheelrdquoUsha also remembered the Ambassador once breaking down on the road between Mumbai and Pune ldquoI recall dad giving the car keys to a roadside mechanic and telling him my family and I are taking a taxi home you repair the car and bring it to my place That is how trusting he was of people His trenchant cartoons may make you think he was cynical but he always told us that we must trust peoplerdquo said UshaAmbi coolAtre said ldquoThe black Ambassador is lsquochakachakrsquo shiny and wellmaintained I just had a problem with parking I had to park it outside of my building on the road because of the space crunch I found it challenging to manoeuvre out of the little lane in which it was parked since it is a big car Then a couple of months ago I saw an lsquoadrsquo on social media for the museum I decided to donate the car this is how this has come aboutrdquoMany collectors have a passion others are at times driven by commerce buying up a famous personrsquos memorabilia hoping for some good returns later Atrersquos though was a donation ldquoI wanted nothing for the car Just the elation on the faces of those who saw me come into view first with the car was my reward I do not have the vocabulary to describe the joy they feltrdquoUsha acknowledged too that Atre had donated the car ldquothat was really splendid and he brought it himself A trueblue fanrdquo she endedPrime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the R K Laxman Museum on March 6 2022 It tells the story of the iconic illustrator highlighting the journey of his career with sketches cartoons and caricatures2007Year Atre bought Ambassador from dealer