K. Narayan, born as Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami in 1906, was one of the most refined Indian writers who wrote in English literature. He was famous for his fictional setting of a semi-urban South Indian town, Malgudi.
Along with the other two significant writers, Raja Rao and Mulk Raj Anand, Narayan was the leading Indian writer who played a vital role in the development of early English literature.
The English novelist, Graham Greene was a mentor and close friend of Narayan and helped him remarkably in publishing the beginning four works of R. K. Narayan.
These books included “The English Teacher”, the semi-autobiographical trilogy “Swami and Friends”, and “The Bachelor of Arts”. In the work “Swami and Friends”, Narayan’s most famous fictional setting of Malgudi was first introduced.
Narayan’s most striking feature of works is that he traces down the ordinary ways of everyday life of the people. This makes his works appealing to common people. Furthermore, he is often compared to the English writer and Nobel Prize laureate, William Faulkner because he also constructed an imaginary town in his works.
Likewise, both of them explore the strength of ordinary life with humour and passion. In 1951, “The Financial Expert” was termed as the most original work of R.K. Narayan.
Furthermore, the style of short story writing of Narayan is likened to Guy de Maupassant, a French short story writer who was widely considered as the master of the form of short story genre. This comparison was made upon his capability to compress a narrative.
Narayan became the voice of Indian commoners in the western world. For instance, through his works, Narayan paved the way for Indian people to become accessible to the outside Western world. In this way, he familiarized the foreigners to feel the Indian sensibilities and cultural intricacies.
He inevitably engaged the foreign readers in his threads of fiction by blending the deep strands of the Indian social system in it, thus providing the readers with a peep into the norms of Hindu traditional life.
R. K. Narayan’s Biography
The birth of R. K. Narayan took place on 10th October 1906 in Madras, India that is today’s Chennai. He was the second son among eight children of a school headmaster, Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer.
Narayan began his educational career while studying at his father’s school in childhood. However, due to his father’s frequent transfers from one place to another for his job, Narayan stayed with his maternal grandmother for a considerable part of his childhood.
At that time, he had two companion pets, a monkey and a peacock.
The grandmother Parvati called him Kunjappa and this nickname clung to Narayan in family circles. She taught him various traditional subjects like Sanskrit, classical Indian music, arithmetic, and mythological studies.
He was also a frequent reader that gave him vast knowledge. Also, from childhood, the family spoke English at home that provided him with a firm background for the future profession.
During this time, he changed different schools; C.R.C. High School, Lutheran Mission High School, and Christian College High School. At age twelve, Narayan joined the family when his father was sent to the Maharajah’s College High School in Mysore.
In the school, Narayan luckily got a huge library to read from. Also, his father’s library and the family’s literary background helped him in increasing his love for reading and writing. Therefore, Narayan began to write along with reading.
After school, he applied for enrollment at Maharaja College of Mysore but failed the entrance test. Hence, he got another year to read and write at home and was subsequently enrolled in the college in 1926. However, he completed his bachelor’s degree within four years instead of three.
Later, he did not pursue his M.A. degree because a friend advised him that going for this degree will end his interest in English literature, therefore, he should focus on his area of interest.
During this period, R.K. Narayan took a job as a school teacher but left it in protest against the headmaster after some time. It was the time when Narayan realized his literary consciousness and decided to stay at home and begin formal writing.
Early Writing
When he quit his job as a schoolteacher, R.K. Narayan began to read and write more. The first publication of Narayan that appeared was a book review of the work Development of Maritime Laws of 17th-Century England.
After this, he began to write short stories about local matters for English Papers. However, this career did not earn him much but he was unquestionably supported by his family for his choice of profession.
They respected and supported his decision in every way.
First Novel
In 1930, Narayan’s first novel appeared, “Swami and Friends”. Although it was rejected by many publishers and ridiculed by his uncle, it did create the setting for Narayan’s literary career.
For instance, it was the first work in which Narayan set his story in the fictive town of Malgudi.
Malgudi was a fictional semi-urban place that very aesthetically fabricated the social overview of the country. However, it neglected the colonial limitations upon the people.
Also, this setup grew with different political variations in the process of gaining an independent India after British rule.
Local paper
In 1933, Narayan married Rajam, a 15-year-old girl, and joined a Madras based paper, The Justice, as a reporter. The paper worked for the rights of non-Brahmins.
Being a Brahmin, Narayan’s work for the empowerment of non-Brahmins thrilled the publisher. He introduced him to many influential people and issues.
Publication of First Novel
Narayan had earlier sent a manuscript of “Swami and Friends” to his Oxford friend who showed it to Graham Greene. In turn, Greene published the book through his publisher in 1935.
Although it earned good reviews, the book was unable to make good money. It included some instances from Narayan’s childhood also.
Narayan’s Rising Success
After the first book, Greene began to counsel Narayan about how to write to gain the attention of the English audience. He also advised him to shorten his name according to the demand of English readers.
In 1937, Narayan’s second novel “The Bachelor of Arts” was published which was also based on his college life experiences. It narrates the story of a shift from rebellious adolescent life to sophisticated adulthood. In 1938, Narayan published his third novel “The Dark Room”.
This novel portrays domestic differences between a man and a woman in a marital relationship. The male member is dominant and exercises oppression over his wife.
The third work was also published by a different publishing platform. It was also printed with the help of Graham Greene.
Effect of Depression
In 1939, Narayan’s wife died of typhoid. This loss pushed him in great depression but he continued to write and this phase completely changed his life.
Within some time, Narayan published “The English Teacher” in 1945 which was inspired by Narayan’s personal sense of loss and bewilderment.
It is more autobiographical than any other work of Narayan.
Busy Career
Then he also wrote some other books like “Mr. Sampath” (1949) and “Waiting for Mahatma” (1955). Furthermore, Narayan composed an award-winning word “The Guide” in 1956.
In 1961, another novel “The Man-Eater of Malgudi” appeared and the success of this book motivated Narayan to work for certain papers like “The Atlantic” and “The Hindu”.
Beginning of Mythological Career
A collection of short stories ‘Gods, Demons and Others’ was published in 1964. This was the first mythological work of Narayan. In 1967, he published a novel, “The Vendor of Sweets” which was inspired by his visit to America.
He even wrote a tourism-based book “The Emerald Route” at the request of the Karnataka government. It was republished in 1980.
End of Career
Furthermore, in 1980, Narayan became a part of the Indian parliament and served in education for 6 years. From this time till death, he wrote abundantly. His final book was “Grandmother’s Tale”, a novella based upon Narayan’s childhood recollection of his grandmother’s tale about his great-grandmother.
He died on 13th May 2001, in Chennai hospital. Even in the hospital, he was thinking of writing a novel about a grandfather but death took him away.
R. K. Narayan’s Writing Style
Natural and Unpretentious
The writing style of R. K. Narayan is full of natural construction of humour and unpretentious motives. He takes the everyday life of an ordinary individual and develops it in a way relatable to the common readers.
He reminds the audience of their immediate family relationships, neighbours, and their surroundings.
For example, in “The Financial Expert”, the common theme of love of money and its consequent evils are depicted. In the trend of rising materialism, yearning for financial stability was the problem of every household.
These common life issues make Narayan’s works popular and universal among the Eastern and Western readers.
Compassionate Representations
Narayan is often likened to William Faulkner in his construction of stories. They both have a compassionate humanitarian spirit and represent in humorous style the vigour of common life.
Also, they have the quality of juxtaposing individual perplexities with the demands of social surroundings.
In constructing his characters, Narayan creates the feeling of empathy between his readers and characters as they can feel the events happening to the characters. Therefore, there is a natural sensibility and oneness in his works.
For example, “Swami and Friends” recounts the curious and adventurous nature of teenage schoolboys that is common to young boys.
Depiction of True Indian Society
R.K. Narayan depicts the staunch Indian society with its realities and intricacies in his works. He does not modify life according to the demands of a fictional narrative. In a simplistic tone and style, Narayan portrays the traditions and rituals of Indian social life and provides an insight into their values.
According to the poet and critic William Walsh, ‘The religious sense of Indian myth is a part of Narayan’s grip of reality of his particular view of human life….. he embodies the pure spirit of Hinduism’. For example, in “The Guide”, Narayan beautifully embodies the religious nature of Indian people. The protagonist Rosie, her mother, grandmother, and other ladies remained dancers at a young age for the local temple. They would become Devdasis (religious figures) in village prayers.
Likewise, another character, Raju becomes a Sadhu (religious man) by accepting values of sacrifice, chastity, and lowliness. When he is released from prison, instead of going home, he goes to a temple and keeps fast for 11 days to please god.
Language
Narayan’s works consist of meaningfully expressive dialogues in prose style with certain Tamil connotations to predict the nature of his characters.
He was considered by many critics including Graham Greene as Indian Chekov. It is because of their similar writing styles in which they combine complex ideas of life in aesthetic simplicity.
Also, the tragic events are weaved in a humorous and lighter tone. Moreover, Anthony West rated Narayan’s realistic style to that of Nikolai Gogol.
Short Stories Style
The short stories of R.K. Narayan are so full of life and captivating that it becomes difficult for the readers to get over them. His construction of the genre is compiling huge ideas into a few meaningful and expressive pages of writing.
Sometimes, his story is less than 10 pages but it expresses a complex idea that many writers fail to clarify in bulky novels.
Narayan provides an insight into human nature and individual lives in his stories. Due to compression of complex ways of life in small works, Jhumpa Lahiri, the Pulitzer Prize winner, places him within the class of geniuses of short story O’ Henry, Flannery O’Connor, and Guy de Maupassant.
The compilations of short stories of R.K. Narayan include “A Horse and Two Goats and Other Stories”, “Gods, Demons, and Others”, “Under the Bunyan Tree and Other Stories”, “The Grandmother’s Tale and Selected Stories”, “Malgudi Days”, and “The World of Malgudi”.
Descriptive and Objective Style
The style of R.K. Narayan’s works tends toward descriptiveness and objectivity. It is less analytical and subjective. This detached view provides an objective eye for readers to see the work from an unbiased standpoint.
This gives the narrative a realistic and genuine representation. His work has a unique capability to intertwine actions and characters through his attitude towards the ways of life.
Narayan raises ordinary events of life in such a way that they get settled in the minds of the audience providing them with an idea of how to tackle such circumstances. For example, “Talkative Man” (1986), and “The Guide” (1958) represent Narayan’s objective view of individual lives.
Themes in R. K. Narayan’s Writings
Narayan’s works cover life from small children’s pranks to grave matters of life. Also, he shows different sides of the same idea like misery and wealth, broken and strong relationships, religious orthodoxy and supernatural elements, etc.
Likewise, there are people from every walk of life in Narayan’s works.
Misery and Suffering of Man
As Narayan peeps into the everyday life of a common man, there are many instances where his characters exhibit the situation of misery and suffering in one form or the other as human life is full of troubles. This representation of misery is mixed with a feeling of sympathy for the common lot.
For example, the life of a pick-pocket in “Trail of the Green Blazer”, a gambler in “Wife’s Holiday”, a servant in “Leela’s Friend”, and a labourer in “Four Rupees” are presented with a sympathetic eye.
He creates these characters in such a way that Narayan mixes his creative spirit with their sufferings and raises them to the level of aesthetic qualities of literature.
Animal Sympathy
Narayan’s sympathy also goes with non-human creatures as he gives place to animals and birds in his works. Some of his works are based on animal imagery and provide insight into the animal world also.
In his works, Narayan exhibits the intricacies of animal life and shows his understanding of their emotions in beautifully created stories.
The animal stories of R.K. Narayan include “Mute Companions”, “Chippy”, “Flavor of Coconut”, “At the Portal”, “Attila”, and “The Blind Dog”.
Children Innocence and Mischiefs
Some of Narayan’s stories also centre on the theme of children’s innocent mischiefs. These stories portray children doing innocent pranks and fights thus highlighting the inherent little humour that resides in the child’s psyche.
Narayan portrays the humorous and interesting nature of kids doing funny actions. Also, the readers are familiarized with the appealing creative imagination of small children.
The stories that feature children characters are “Hero, “Dodu”, “Leela’s Friend”, “Father’s Help”, “A Shadow”, “The Regal”, “A Breach of Promise’, “Unbroken Doll’, and “Sweets for Angels” among others.
Unemployment Issues
Undoubtedly, Narayan peeps into almost every issue and every kind of idea related to common life. Therefore, some of his works deal with the issue of the growing unemployment and the problems related to it in the social setup.
For example, “Mother and Son” is the story of increasing disturbance and despair in a domestic setting. Narayan shows the condition of an unemployed young man along with a vivid depiction of purely maternal feelings for him.
This condition can be related to most of the modern men in the growing competitive world.
Also, “Man-Hunt” is about a young man desperately searching for a job for survival. However, the story turns into humour when the issue of misidentification of a missing person arises.
Achievements
Being a recognized writer, Narayan won various honours. In 1958, Narayan’s novel, “The Guide” won the Sahitya Akademi Award and after its film production, the Filmfare Award for the best story.
Later, he earned the honorary Padma Bhushan in 1964. In 1980, the British Royal Society of Literature honoured Narayan with the AC Benson Medal. Also, many times, Narayan was nominated for the Nobel Prize that he unfortunately never won.
He also won the honorary doctorate degrees from Delhi University, Mysore University, and the University of Leeds. Narayan became a member of the Upper House of Indian Parliament in 1989 for 6 years.