Directions (1-5): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it in the context of the passage.

The Republic's annual honours list is often the subject of heated debate, with champions and detractors joining battle over the relative merits of the recipients of national awards. But no one would quarrel with the State, this year, for having honoured Rasipuram Krishanaswamy Laxman with a Padma Vibhushan. For Laxman, the creator of the silent but observant Common Man who has kept at least three generations of readers of The Times of India company at breakfast, is no friend of power and wealth, no respecter of the narcissism that can afflict the directors of the nation's destinies

Question: Who was 'Common Man' as used in the passage?