MaIgudi

Microcosm of ndia
Malgudi is a fictitious small town in ndia created by R.K. Narayan. t forms the setting for most of
Narayan's works. Starting with his first novel, Swami and Friends, all but one of his fifteen novels
and most of his short stories take place here.

n the words of R.K. Narayan, "Malgudi is a town "habited by timeless characters who could be living
anywhere in the world" and is located on the banks of river Sarayu and surrounded by the Mempi
Hills."
Biography
R. K. Narayan (10 October 1906 - 13 May 2001), shortened from Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer
Narayanaswami Tamil: ) (was an ndian author whose works of fiction include a series of books
about people and their interactions in an imagined town in ndia called Malgudi. He is one of three
leading figures of early ndian literature in English, along with Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao. He is
credited with bringing ndian literature in English to the rest of the world, and is regarded as one of
ndia's greatest English language novelists.
Narayan broke through with the help of his mentor and friend, Graham Greene, who was
instrumental in getting publishers for Narayan's first four books, including the semi-autobiographical
trilogy of Swami and Friends, The Bachelor of Arts and The English Teacher. Narayan's works also
include The Financial Expert, hailed as one of the most original works of 1951, and Sahitya Akademi
Award winner The Guide, which was adapted for films in Hindi and English languages, and for
Broadway.
The setting for most of Narayan's stories is the fictional town of Malgudi, first introduced in Swami
and Friends. His narratives highlight social context and provide a feel for his characters through
everyday life. He has been compared to William Faulkner, who also created a fictional town that
stood for reality, brought out the humour and energy of ordinary life, and displayed compassionate
humanism in his writing. Narayan's short story writing style has been compared to that of Guy de
Maupassant, as they both have an ability to compress the narrative without losing out on elements of
the story. Narayan has also come in for criticism for being too simple in his prose and diction.
n a writing career that spanned over sixty years, Narayan received many awards and honours.
These include the AC Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature and the Padma Vibhushan,
ndia's second-highest civilian award. He was also nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house
of the ndian parliament.
read the rest of the Wikipedia article
The Life of RK Narayan
an extract from the California Literary Review 3/26/2007
Narayan's fiction rarely addresses political issues or high philosophy. He writes with grace and
humor, about a fictional town Malgudi and its inhabitants; and their little lives. Narayan is a classic
teller of tales; an enduring appeal springs from his canvas where common men and women of all
times and places are joined in their commonality.

[1]

Rasipuram Krishnaswamy yer Narayanswamy stood shortened to R.K.Narayan, on Graham
Greene's advice. Narayan lived till ninety-five, writing for more than fifty years, and publishing till he
was eighty seven. He wrote fifteen novels, five volumes of short stories, a number of travelogues
and collection of non-fiction, English translation of ndian epics, and the memoirs "My Days". Yet it is
neither the copiousness of output, nor currency of content - or the lack of either - that gives Narayan
his place among the finest story-tellers of modern English.

He weaved a world existing nowhere, but striking a chord of perfect reality with readers across the
English reading peoples. His books appeal in a quiet, reassuring way and have a remained popular
over many decades. His writing is also part of literature coursework in some American universities.

Narayan evokes a diction of unusual freshness and rare ingenuity with the English literary idiom.

[2]

Narayan was born at the beginning of the twentieth century, on October 10, 1906 at Chennapatna,
near Mysore in southern ndia. He was one among many siblings, his father a provincial head-
master of much repute with the rod. Narayan studied at his father's school and maintained a diligent
dislike for studies. The qualifier to the graduate course in Arts proved his nemesis; Narayan failed. n
spite of sustained loathing, Physics and Chemistry had stood by him, but English betrayed. He much
liked the subject and was already aspiring for a writerly life. But a compromise was never reached
with the English pieces in his syllabus. Getting plucked fetched him a year of reprieve from classes;
he promised his father he will try the test again.

Narayan started reading in earnest, the classics of English literature, and writing. He read out his
pieces to a close band of friends, and after priming the audience with coffee and snacks, asked for
their opinion. Such reviews were laudatory, "brilliant" being the unanimous word. His father had his
own qualms about institutional education, and encouraged Narayan in literary pursuits.

The next year's entrance examination was cleared, Narayan served his time in the university and
graduated. Though the repugnance to studies never recouped he queued for the Master of Arts
course, viewing the degree as an expedient in job hunting. While walking up the university stairs to
submit the form, a friend warned of the privations of M.A. Narayan turned around and came down
the steps in a hurry, never to try their ascent again.

He resolved to write for his living and write in English. Reporting for defunct journals, freelancing
here and there and similar "literary" odd jobs catered more to the spirits than pockets. He kept on
writing and submitting. A few lyrical pieces went to publishers in England, and returned in due or
undue time, along with "%u2026cold, callous rejection slips, impersonal and mocking".

[3]

Narayan's first published work was the review of a book titled "Development of Maritime Laws of
17th-Century England". He is rather cynical about it and writes, "A most unattractive book, but
struggled through its pages and wrote a brief note on it, and though not paid for, it afforded me the
thrill of seeing my words in print for the first time." To better arrange meetings of the proverbial ends,
Narayan took up teaching at a government school, and left the job within two days.

n the autumn of 1930, on a sudden spurt of inspiration, writing of his first novel "Swami and Friends"
started. t was as if a window had opened, and through it Narayan saw a little town and its rail
station, the Mempi Forest and the Nallapa's Grove, the Albert Mission school, Market Road, the
River Sarayu. ts inhabitants appeared, and Malgudi was born.

Malgudi is the setting of nearly all of Narayan's work. t is described as being somewhere in southern
ndia. Malgudi has some elements of Hardy's Wessex and perhaps can be pinned on a map as
exactly Wodehouse's Blandings has recently been done. But Malgudi is different from either. ts
moorings in geography - and also history - seem never an issue; Narayan's space-time bubble
bounces in absolute ether.

"Swami and Friends" was completed and sent to publishers. t repeatedly returned. Narayan
dispatched it yet another time and gave the return address as one of his friend's in London. He wrote
to the friend requesting the manuscript be tied to a brick and thrown into the Thames if it came back.
t did.

But the friend took it to his acquaintance Graham Greene, who was already an established author.
Narayan received a telegram soon thereafter, "Novel taken. Graham Greene responsible."

"Swami and Friends" was published in October 1935. Greene's suggestion for pruning his never-
ending name to something more succinct was readily taken by Narayan.

Thus began Narayan's friendship with Greene; it continued till the latter's death in 1991. They
corresponded often but had met only once, in 1964. This association is surprising in its depth and
sincerity, given the two's widely varying oeuvres.

[4]

"Swami and Friends" had a few enthusiastic reviews but was lost in the deluge of current bestsellers.
Throughout his career, Narayan changed publishers often, sometimes publishers changed him; he
even dabbled in self-publishing for some of his books.

Narayan's renown as a writer came slowly, almost with a touch of diffidence. He never had the
trappings of a high profile author, and stayed scrupulously shy of literary lunches and book signing
binges. He was most at home near his characters, somewhere in south ndia.

Malgudi is a land of fantasy, not as in a dream, colored and brilliant; but the reverie of relaxed
awakening, a contemplation of commonness. Life there is reduced, or elevated, to the lowest
common denominator of living, which remains the same in nearly all places and times. Small men,
smaller means, touched at times by the cares of a larger world, but unruffled, still moving on. The
characters yearn for fame and money and virtue and those "real" things, but their longings stand
tempered by a subtle sense of limitation, almost comic.

The narrator of one the novels is an archetypal Malgudian: "We were about twenty unrelated families
in Kabir Street, each having inherited a huge rambling house stretching from the street to the river
and back. %u2026. so comfortably placed, (we) were mainly occupied in eating, breeding,
celebrating festivals, spending the afternoons in a prolonged siesta on the pyol, and playing cards all
evening. %u2026.. This sort of existence did not appeal to me. liked to be active, had dreams of
becoming a journalist. %u2026. noticed a beggar woman one day, at the Market Gate, with
Siamese twins, and persuaded my friend Jayaraj, photographer and framer of pictures at the Market
Arch, to take a picture of the woman, wrote a report on it and mailed it to the first paper which caught
my attention at the Town Hall reading room; that was my starting point as a journalist. Thereafter
got into the habit of visiting the Town Hall library regularly to see if my report appeared in print."

Narayan's irony dissembles in humor, and the reader realizes only when hit,

' "Excuse me. made a vow never to touch alcohol in my life, before my mother," said Chandran.

This affected Kailas profoundly. He remained solemn for a moment and said : "Then don't. Mother is
a sacred object. t is a commodity whose value we don't realize as long as it is with us. One must
lose it to know what a precious possession it is. f had my mother should have studied in a college
and become a respectable person. You wouldn't find me here. After this where do you think 'm
going ?"

" don't know."

"To the house of a prostitute."

He remained reflective for a moment and said with a sigh:

"As long as my mother lived she said every minute, 'Do this don't do that.' And remained a good
son to her. The moment she died changed. t is a rare commodity, sir. Mother is a rare commodity."
'

Nature remains an abounding presence in the semi-suburban life of Malgudi. Narayan's observation
and his felicity with words reveal in passages such as, "t was April. The summer sun shone like a
ruthless arc lamp - and all the water in the well evaporated and the road dust became bleached and
weightless and flew about like flour spraying off the grinding wheels." Long solitary walks remained a
lifelong passion; the world percolated his every pore. "When the monsoon broke out, one could
watch dark mountainous clouds mustering, edged with lightning; these would develop awesome
pyrotechnics. n June, drizzle and sunshine alternating, leaving gold mohur, flame of the forest, and
jacaranda in bloom along the avenues. n July and August the never-ending downpour, grey leaden
skies, and damp air blowing."
The rest at http://calitreview.com/2007/03/26/the-life-of-rk-narayan/