Author RK Narayan Best known for Swami and Friends

RK Narayan, better known by Swami and Friends, was born on October 10, 1906. He was born in old Madras and present-day Chennai. His father was a school principal and moved around a lot; therefore, he was raised by his grandmother Parvathi. She nicknamed him Kunjappa and his family members popularly called him by this nickname. He went to study at various schools and spent most of his time reading Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Dickens, PG Wodehouse and Thomas Hardy. He got into trouble when he participated in an independence march; his family was neutral on Indian politics and independence.

RK Narayan moved to Mysore to join his parents, where he began writing. He studied at the Maharaja College of Mysore and got a job as a school teacher. He left him to realize that he would write for the rest of his life. His first published writing was entitled ‘Development of the Maritime Laws of Seventeenth-Century England’. He wrote for English newspapers and magazines. Although he lived on a meager income, his friends and family respected him and he published his first novel, Swami and Friends. Thus the fictional city of Malgudi was born. This book was rejected by various publishers until Narayan sent it to his friend and popular author Graham Greene. Other books such as The Bachelor of Arts, The English Teacher, The Financial Expert, Waiting for the Mahatma and The Guide were published. The Financial Expert was recognized as one of the most original works in 1951 while winning the Sahitya Akademi Award for The Guide. The Guide was also made into a movie and played on Broadway. He was compared to William Faulkner for his portrayal of real-life characters in everyday life and also to Guy de Maupassant regarding his narrative style in presenting short stories. He was awarded the AC Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature and the Padma Vibhushan. He was also nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha.

Narayan fell in love with Rajam and married her despite financial and zodiacal obstacles. Shortly after the marriage, he worked for a newspaper called The Justice. He wrote about the embarrassment of being spanked in class, the emotional toll on brides and grooms with horoscope matching, and the subjugation of women in marriages. The death of his wife aggravated him immensely and his daughter became the center of his attention. The grievance served as the inspiration for his book, The English Teacher. He also worked on a magazine, Indian Thought. He then started his own publishing company, Indian Thought Publications, which earned him voracious readers from New York to Moscow. His writings were first published in the United States by Michigan State University Press.

In 1961 Malgudi’s The Man-Eater was published. He earned many accolades and toured Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne. After the publication of The Vendor of Sweets, he received his first honorary doctorate from the University of Leeds. He lived the last of his days dedicating himself to agriculture and interacting with people. He wrote The World of Nagraj and Grandma’s Tale, the last of his books. He took his last breath on May 13, 2001 in Chennai.