Kamala Laxman was an Indian author of children's books, and the wife of cartoonist

R. K. Laxman Rasipuram Krishnaswami Laxman ''Pg. 11 in the source says that Laxman & his brother Narayan were Tamil Iyer Brahmins.'' (24 October 1921 – 26 January 2015) was an Indian cartoonist, illustrator, and humorist. He is best known for his creation ...

. Kamala died in 2015 at the age of 90. She is survived by her son Srinivas, a retired journalist, her daughter-in-law Usha and granddaughter Rimanika.

Early life and career

Kamala was born in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and studied in St Thomas' Convent and later graduated from Indraprastha College for Women,

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. She also received a degree in Interior Decoration from

Sir J.J. School of Art ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

in Mumbai. Recognising her talent, the India Book House commissioned Kamala to write children's books in the 1970s. Her notable works include '' The Thama Stories'', ''Raman of Tenali & Other Stories'' and ''Thama and His Missing Mother''. Many of her works were illustrated by her husband R. K. Laxman. Their stories were serialised and telecasted by the Indian TV station Doordarshan.

Personal life

She was married to cartoonist

, who also happened to be her maternal uncle, after his divorce to his first wife Kumari Kamala. Kamala was the life president of ''Mahalakshmi Ladies' Club'' founded by her mother in the year 1965 in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laxman, Kamala 2015 deaths Indian children's writers Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art alumni Writers from Pune Writers from Chennai Indraprastha College for Women alumni Indian women children's writers Women writers from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian novelists