One of the most renowned Indian authors of all time, R. K. Narayan in full Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayanswami, was born in Madras on October 10, 1906. Narayan, was the second child among the sons. He spent most of his childhood days at his maternal grandmother’s home. He attended different schools growing up and was an ardent reader. He read, Conan Doyle, Wodehouse, Dickens and others. Narayan graduated from Maharaja College of Mysore, and then joined as a teacher for a brief period. This is the time he realised the career that he was passionate about was only ‘writing’.
He wrote for some English Newspapers and magazines.
Narayan wrote and published novels, non-fiction, short stories and mythology. To name a few;
• Swami and Friends in 1935
• The Bachelor of Arts in 1937
• The Dark Room in 1938
• The English Teacher in 1945
• Mr. Sampath in 1948
• The Financial Expert in 1952
• Waiting for the Mahatma in 1955
• Then Guide in 1958
• The Man-Eater of Malgudi in 1961
• The Vendor of Sweets in 1967
• The Painter of Signs in 1977
• A Tiger for Malgudi in 1983
• Talkative Man in 1986
• The World of Nagaraj in 1990
• Grandmother’s Tale in 1992
• Gods, Demons and Others in 1964
• Malgudi Days in 1942
• A horse and Two Goats in 1970
• Reluctant Guru in 1974
• My Dateless Diary in 1960
• A Writer’s Nightmare in 1988
Does this list take you down the memory lane?
My answer is ‘yes’. I have read very few of R. K. Narayan’s books, and my favourite is Malgudi Days and Swami and Friends. His way of describing the everyday life of Swami and his friends is hilarious and simple. He only imagined the town of Malgudi and the prople living there, but it felt so real that I wanted to be part of that town. I guess I am going to order a few more of R K Narayan’s books for the weekend read. Will you?