Rediscovering R. K. Narayan, The Grand Storyteller from India
The only word that comes to my mind when I try to describe the words of R. K. Narayan is HONEY. So sweet are his sentences. When I first read Swami and Friends (more about this below), I was excited like a kid in a candy shop. I kept marveling at every sentence that I read. This man is truly a magician. The more I read him, the more my admiration for him grew. Let us explore what is so magical about his writing.
Unparalleled Craftsmanship
I always wonder how a South Indian, born and brought up in India, could gain such mastery in a language that is not his mother tongue. It is not just his command over the language that enchants the reader. The way he frames a sentence makes me stop and wonder aloud “How the hell he manages to do that!”
For example, to describe movement in a crowd, one might write like this.
“Some people moved in the crowd” or “There was some movement in the crowd”
Narayan writes it this way.
“The crowd stirred a bit”
I still remember the moment I read this sentence. It took my breath away.
There are many great writers who use language with supreme command. But, few writers use language with such delicacy. Every sentence of his has a life of its own.
Qualities that set him apart from other writers
Non-native speakers of English, sometimes paraphrase the sentences when translating them from their mother tongue to English.
In doing so, sometimes the essence or the meaning of it gets diluted. But this man, with his immense ability, translates the same thought into English without it suffering any dilution. It is such a gratifying experience to witness that.
He never tries to give a message or propound a philosophy. That is one remarkable feature of his works.
He doesn’t try to tell the reader what is just and what is unjust. He just reflects what happens in society through his stories. That’s what an artist does. He is not a philosopher like some of the writers in history are. He is a storyteller through and through.
Here are some of my favourite books by R. K. Narayan
Swami and Friends
In this nostalgic account, Narayan escorts us back to our childhood. It is about the life of a boy named Swami. Most of us can relate to him. All the things we feared, cared for and were anxious about as children are described in exquisite detail. Rowing through the pages of the book, I many times wondered “That is how I thought when I was a kid”. This book transports us back into those good old days of childhood when we were blissfully unaware of the perils of adulthood. You should definitely read this debut novel of R. K. Narayan if you wish to revisit your childhood.
The English Teacher
This is the most autobiographical of his novels. Written at a time when he was dealing with the loss of his wife, Narayan’s melancholy is writ all over the pages of The English Teacher. But it doesn’t sound melodramatic. The pain he feels runs like an undercurrent for the better part of the book. It is his own story, tweaked a bit here and there. Through the pages of this book, one witnesses how much the death of a loved one can affect a person and how grief makes us believe in things that we normally don’t even think of. We get to see how it is the instinct of a parent to do the best for his/her child even when dealing with personal grief.
Malgudi Days
All the tales in this story collection are set in a fictional town called “Malgudi”. It is a household name in India. It consists of all sorts of people that we come across in our daily life. These stories explore the lives of the ordinary masses of India. Narayan takes a character and narrates its story. He picks up every detail that forms the personality of the character. Or, he takes an event or a situation and narrates it in enthralling detail in a way that only he can do. I felt immensely satisfied at the end of each story. These stories stand as testimonials to his consummate storytelling craft.
My Days
This one is my personal favourite. His autobiography is not as popular as his other books. When I read the book, I kept hugging myself and I lost count of how many times I thanked the Universe for introducing me to this book. You get to know how he became the master storyteller that he is. This book chronicles his journey from schooldays to old age. His description of his own childhood is a treat to read. We also get to know about his literary journey and how his formative years have shaped him as a writer.
Conclusion
If you love literature and stories, please make time to read the works of this great writer. You have to read Narayan to know India in its true sense; how its people are and how they live. In these diverse stories, you see many facets of human nature. If you do not read R. K. Narayan, my fellow reader, you’re missing out on a treasure that gives you lasting joy.
Subahan
