Rk Narayan1

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RK Narayan

Sameer Jha

BAJC First Year B

100701055


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A Few Words

It is very difficult for me to be somebodys fan. I dont like a lotof things, and even if I do, I often find a reason for itsinferiority. And, thus lose a significant amount of respect forthe creator.

However, there are a handful of people, whom I think can dono wrong. RK Narayan is one of them.


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In May, last year, I picked up one of his novels (The BachelorOf Arts) by getting attracted to its name. Reason being, that Itoo had enrolled for the BA course a few months back. (Which,I ultimately had to drop because of attendance shortage.)

Reading it, immediately gave me a feeling that this is howbooks should be written. A big reason for that would be, thatthe character of Chandran is very similar to my own. And muchto my delight, most Narayan novels are written from a similarviewpoint, that of a upper middle class Brahmin with artisticbents.


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Early Life Since this is a history project and not a literary one, it is more

important to talk about his life than his work. (Though, the two arerelated.)

R. K. Narayan was born in Madras (now known as Chennai), MadrasPresidency, British India. His father was a school headmaster, andNarayan did some of his studies at his father's school. As his father'sjob required frequent moves, Narayan spent part of his childhoodunder the care of his maternal grandmother, Parvati. During this timehis best friends and playmates were a peacock and a mischievousmonkey.

If you want a better account, please refer to the first chapter of hisautobiography My Days.

That said, his first book, Swami and Friends, is a betterrecommendation if you want to ignore the facts and straightaway knowwhat kind of a child he was.


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Reading No writer of modern times can be explained, without first

understanding what his influences were. As a kid, Narayan was luckyto have a father who was a school headmaster. This gave him accessto the library at any time. He read a lot of books by various authorslike Dickens, Shakespeare, Hardy, Wodehouse, Conan Doyle, andmany others. He also followed Magazines, and the literary world ofEngland held his fascination.

After Scott I picked up a whole row of Dickens and loved his Londonand the queer personalities therin. Rider Haggard, Marie Corelli,

Moliere and Pope and Marlowe, Tolstoi, Thomas Hardy anindiscriminate jumble; I read everything with the utmost enjoyment.


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Writing Struggle

Even though Narayan is a well respected writer now, his earlyyears were not that easy. In his autobiography, he mentionshow he wrote several stories revolving around matrimony, forhis uncles friend who was starting a magazine on it. Later, theeditor said, that he would publish the stories one by one, overa period of time, and the payment too was delayed. Or not

made at all. I am not sure.

The whole concept of him becoming a writer, was in itself avery uncomfortable pill to swallow for his family.

Unwisdom! Unwisdom! one gentleman cried. You could writeas a hobby, how can you make a living as a writer? The notion

is very unpractical.


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He mentioned in his memoir,

I had got used to getting back my manuscript with unfailingregularity once every six weeks- two weeks onward journey,two weeks on the editors table, and two weeks homeward

journey with a rejection slip pinned to it All in all it provided

me with six weeks of hope.

The response to Swami and friends was mixed even amongsthis family. While one person said it was brilliant and amasterpiece, his uncle criticised the very first sentence.

He held one to the light and read out, " 'It was Mondaymorning.' Oh, oh, Monday! Why not Tuesday or Friday?"


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Success At Last!

His novel did ultimately get published, and in quite a dramaticfashion.

After being rejected by half-a-dozen publishers in England, heasked his friend Purna, to weigh it with a stone and drop it intothe Thames river.

Better sense prevailed, and Purna sent the novel to GrahamGreene. He said that the book was one in ten thousand andfound a publisher for Swami and Friends.

The novel despite being well received did not do well as far assales are concerned.

The publisher, Hamish Hamilton, refused to publish his secondnovel, The Bachelor Of Arts, and again Graham Greeneintervened and found him a publisher.


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Years later, when RK Narayan met Hamish Hamilton at a party(who other than Graham Greenes), Hamilton said, RememberI was your first publisher, and I will always be proud of thefact.


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Narayans Fiction.

Only the story matters, that is all. If readers read moresignificance into my stories than was meant originally, thenthats the readers understanding of things. But if a story is intune completely with the truth of life, truth as I perceive it,then it will be automatically significant."

R.K. Narayan has written around 15 novels, mostly revolvingaround the fictional town of Malgudi. Most revolve with amiddle class Brahmin as the protagonist.

About the origin of Malgudi and his first novel, he says:

Malgudi with it little railway station swam into me all ready-made, with a character called Swaminathan running down the

platform peering into the faces of passengers and grimacing ata bearded face.


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"I must be absolutely certain about the psychology of thecharacter I am writing about, and I must be equally sure of thebackground. I know the Tamil and Kannada speaking peoplemost. I know their background. I know how their minds workand almost as if it is happening to me, I know exactly what will

happen to them in certain circumstances. And I know how theywill react."


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As for his short stories, one can make out from theintroduction of his anthology Malgudi Days, that he enjoys

writing them more.As they offer the writer and the readermore variety in less time.

Several of his short stories and his novels, Swami and Friends,and The Vendor Of Sweets has been converted into a novel.


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Other Works Of RK Narayan

Besides his fictional work he has written, the two great Indianepics- Ramayana and Mahabharata, a healthy amount ofessays, an autobiography, a travelogue, and also a Guide Bookof Karnataka, which he republished as The Emerald Routeunder his own publication.

It may sound hyperbolic, but I am prepared to state thatalmost every individual among the five hundred millions livingin India is aware of the story of the Ramayana in somemeasure or the other. Everyone of whatever age, outlook,education, or station in life knows the essential part of theepic.

As a fiction writer, I have enjoyed reading Kamban, felt thestimulation of his poetry and the felicity of his language,admired the profundity of his thought, outlook,characterization, and sense of drama.


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Besides this, he even started a journal called Indian Thought,which he later discontinued.

The Publication (also Indian Thought) still exists and ismanaged by Narayans granddaughter. It publishes only

Narayans books and prices them in the range of Rs. 100.

He wrote a travelogue, on his journey to USA, called TheDateless Diary. It has many humorous incidents, includingone where Narayan was asked whether he liked to have hiscoffee, black or white. Narayan, confused, said that hed like

to have it brown the way it was made back home.


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Awards Awards

His first major award was in 1958, the Sahitya Akademi AwardforTheGuide.In 1964, he received the Padma Bhushan during the RepublicDay honours.In 1980, he was awarded the AC Benson Medal by the (British) Royal

Society of Literature, of which he was an honorary member.In 1982 he was elected an honorary member of the AmericanAcademy of Arts and Letters. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize inLiterature multiple times, but never won the honour.Recognition also came in the form of honorary doctorates bythe University of Leeds (1967), the University of Mysore (1976) andDelhi University (1973).Towards the end of his career, Narayan was nominated to the upper

house of the Indian Parliament for a six-year term starting in 1989, forhis contributions to Indian literature.

A year before his death, in 2000, he was awarded India's second-highest civilian honour, the Padma VIbhushan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahitya_Akademi_Awardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahitya_Akademi_Award


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Death

Rasipuram Krishnaswamy

Narayanswamy Iyer, died on May

13th, 2001. Leaving behind a richseries of books, which clichd asit sounds, still makes him and hisimagination alive.

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Rk Narayan1