Hey! 👋 I’m Archie! Welcome to my newsletter - 3C - Creator, Company, and Culture of India. In every edition, I feature one company, one creator, and one cultural thing about India. Learn about the world's fastest-growing economy directly in your inbox in 5 mins every week!
🎞 Creator: R.K. Laxman - designer of India's common man
Rasipuram Krishnaswami Laxman (24 October 1921 – 26 January 2015) was an Indian cartoonist, illustrator, and satirist. He is best known for his creation “The Common Man” and for his daily cartoon strip, You Said It in The Times of India. He received the Padma Bhushan in 1973 from Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for his distinguished services.
When Laxman began to draw cartoons in The Times of India, he attempted to represent different states and cultures in India. In the rush to meet deadlines, he began to draw fewer and fewer background characters, until finally, he found only one remaining—the now-familiar Common Man. The Common Man generally acts as a silent witness to all the actions in the country.
Laxman once said of his Common Man, "He's been with me throughout my career. I didn't find him. He found me... I would say he symbolizes the mute millions of India, or perhaps the whole world, a silent spectator of marching time." Half a century ago, he would draw a Bengali, a Tamilian, a Punjabi and so on to represent Indians. These figures dropped out of his cartoons gradually, until he was left with this lone character.
🧳 Company: Asian Paints
Founded in 1942, even before Indian independence, Asian paints Ltd is an Indian multinational paint company that’s in the business of manufacturing, selling, and distributing paints, coatings, bath fittings, and related services. In 2022, Asian Paints had a revenue of US$3.7 billion. It was founded by four friends, Champaklal Choksey, Chimanlal Choksi, Suryakant Dani, and Arvind Vakil in a garage in Mumbai.
Asian Paints changed the mindset of Indians who believed that wall paint is done only when walls are peeling off. Today, painting the walls is more of a home decor and lifestyle.
In 1954, Asian Paints launched its mascot "Gattu", created by R. K. Laxman. Gattu was a mischievous boy with a paint bucket in his hand. The mascot found appeal with the middle classes. Gattu helped in bringing the commodity-led business of painters to the actual end users of homeowners. Asian Paints, launched a marketing strategy by focusing on festive occasions in 1980s with their tag line "Har Ghar Kucch Kehta Hai" (Every home says something). The ads were related to festivals and important life events like marriages and child birth, the company advertised it as an occasion to paint homes by connecting on emotional level.
🛺 Culture: Festival of Holi
Holi is a popular and significant Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love and Spring. Like a lot of other festivals, the day also signifies the triumph of good over evil. Holi is originated and is predominantly celebrated in the Indian subcontinent but has also spread to other regions of Asia and parts of the Western world through the Indian diaspora. In the US, Holi is typically played with colors a few weeks after the actual festival due to cold weather in certain parts of the country.
Holika Dahan or the lighting of bonfire takes place on the eve of Holi. The day is also popularly called 'Chhoti Holi' or the 'Small Holi'. The bigger event - play with the colour takes place on the next 'big' day. My favorite memory of Holi was often the bonfire in the evening for Holika Dahan. I looked forward to the tradition of offering raw wheat into the Holika fire; and eating it for days after. If I were ti describe the smell of fire-roasted raw wheat - it would be earthy and nutty, with a slightly smoky aroma from being cooked over an open flame. The roasting process can also create a warm, comforting scent that can evoke feelings of home.
If you have suggestions for a topic, you can tweet them to me or send me a DM on LinkedIn!
If you enjoyed reading this newsletter, consider sharing it with a friend. Subscribe to receive new posts directly in your inbox and support my work.
Loved the Asian Paints story. We used have a calendar from Asian Paints every year where you tore off the date everyday with the guttu on it.