*R.K. Narayan*

*R.K. Narayan*

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I really can’t explain its persistence, you know. Because it was just a casual idea. It’s not a fixation, a fixed geography. It has grown, developed. I think it has very elastic borders, elastic frontiers, elastic everything—with a few fixed points, that’s all….

I had an idea of a railway station, a very small railway station. You’ve seen the kind of thing, with a platform and trees and a station-master. The railway station to which Swami goes to watch the trains arrive and depart: that was the original idea with which I started Swami and Friends. But in the actual book it comes last, it’s at the end of the story.

And then what happened was I was thinking of a name for the railway station. It should have a name-board. And I didn’t want to have an actual name which could be found in a railway time-table. I wanted to avoid that, because some busybody was likely to say, “This place is not there, that shop he has mentioned is not there.” If it’s a real town it’s a nuisance for a writer.

And while I was worrying about this problem, the idea came to me—Malgudi just seemed to hurl into view. It has no meaning. There is a place called Lalgudi near Trichy and a place called Mangudi near Kumbakonam or somewhere. But Malgudi is nowhere. So that was very helpful. It satisfied my requirement.

[R.K. Narayan on the creation of Malgudi.]

 

[Source: The Frontline]

R. K. Narayan’s journey as a writer is indeed compelling, marked by early setbacks that shaped his future. After failing his university entrance exam in English at 18, Narayan experienced a pivotal gap year that led him to teach English in Channapatna. Unfortunately, that venture was unsuccessful, prompting him to return to Mysuru.

During this time, Narayan began writing stories and novels, sharing them with friends in local cafes, but none were published initially. His fortunes changed when he sent the manuscript of "Swami and Friends" to a friend in the UK, with a rather dramatic request to either find a publisher or dispose of it. His friend, fortunate to be connected with the esteemed writer Graham Greene, showed the manuscript to him. Greene championed Narayan's work, which resulted in its publication in 1935, marking the beginning of Narayan's literary career.

Following "Swami and Friends," Narayan published "The Bachelor of Arts" in 1937, further establishing his reputation as a novelist. This period was not without personal tragedy; the deaths of his father and wife in quick succession deeply affected him. Despite this heartache, Narayan found refuge in writing, producing significant works like "Malgudi Days," published in 1942, which explored the lives of characters in the fictional town of Malgudi. This collection later became a popular television series in the 1980s.

His acclaimed novel "The Guide" won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1960, solidifying his place in Indian literature. Narayan continued to write and inspire until his passing in 2001 at the age of 94, leaving a legacy that resonates with readers globally.

For more detailed information, you can check the following sources:

- The New York Times

- Britannica

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14-10-2024.