R. K. Narayan का जीवन-परिचय

Full name– Rasipuram Krishnaswami Lyre Narayanaswami

Birth– October 10, 1906 in Madras Madras Presidency in British India.

Death- May 13, 2001.  Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

You were a South Indian writer. You had written several works related South India town Malgudi. You were considered the leading writer of early Indian literature in English. You had written fictions, mythology and non-fictions. You had been awarded with Padam Vibhushan, Sahitya Academy Award, Benson medal.

Wife– Rajam

Brother– R.K. Laxman

Father- Krishnaswamy Lyer, was a school teacher, had six sons and two daughters.

Education– You were an average student. You failed in both the High School and in the Intermediate class. In 1930, You had completed you graduation from Maharaja College. At the time you were of 24. You failed the University entrance exam first time, but later you passed the examination in 1926 and joined Maharaja College, Mysore. He had completed his bachelor degree in 4 years. You had started a job of school teacher, but later on you had given up that job. You realized that you can only be successful in the field of writing. So, You decided to stay at home and write novels. For English Newspapers and Magazines you started writing stories based on local interest.

You spent your part of childhood under the care of his maternal grandmother, Because of your father’s transfer. Your father was a school teacher. Maternal grandmother called you with the nick name Kanjappa. You learnt arithmetic, mythology and classical Indian music and Sanskrit by her.

In 1930, you wrote his first novel Swami and Friends. Although this work was not so much successful in the starting years. Your own uncle ridiculed it and it was rejected by the Publishers.

Matrimonial life- The year 1933 was very good and romantic year for you. When you were staying at your sister’s house in Coimbatore, you met a girl named Rajma. She was of 15. You fell in love with her at first-sight, Although the conditions were against you, you manage to talk with her parents.

Working-Life- After marriage you joined the job of a reporter the newspaper ‘The Justice’. you became more famous and more familiar with the help of ‘The Justice’. Graham Greene at Oxford was your friend he recommended the book Swami and Friends to the publishers and they published it in 1935. The book highlights the plight of students as punishment.

Second Nobel ‘The Bachelor of Art’ was published in 1937. This work was also recommended by Graham Greene but published by different publisher.

Father’s Death- Your father died in 1937.

In 1938, your novel ‘The Darkroom’ was published in 1938. This noble was published by third publisher. This novel was about domestic disharmony.

Wife’s Death- Your Wife died in 1939 of typhoid. After your wife’s death you were depressed for a long time. You had a daughter, her name was Hema. She was of only 3 when her mother died.

In 1945, your fourth novel ‘The English Teacher’ was published. This novel was an autobiographical. In this work you had expressed your emotions at the time of Rajam’s death

In 1943 is started a journal ‘Indian thought’ but for short time.

In November 1942 your ‘Malgudi Days’ (collection of short-stories) was published.

In 1945 your novel ‘The English Teacher’ was published. It was an autobiographical novel.

‘Indian thought’  was your own publication. In the field you became more successful.  The publication is still active.

It is considered that you wrote the only screenplay for the film ‘Miss Malini’ 1947. It was successfully adapted into feature film.

In 1952, you published your masterpiece fiction ‘The Financial Expert’.

In 1955, you published your next novel ‘Waiting for the Mahatma’.

‘The Guide’ was written while you were visiting the United States in 1956 and it was published in 1958. R.K. Narayan visited England and met his friend Graham Greene. When you returned from there you published your book ‘The Guide’. This book won the ‘Sahitya Akademi Award’ in 1958.

In 1960, your non-fictional work ‘My Dateless Diary’ and ‘Next Sunday’ (collection of conversational essays) was published.

In 1961, you published your next novel ‘The Man-Eater of Malgudi’

In 1964, you published your book based on Mythology ‘Gods, Demons and Others’. In your mythological work you rewritten and translated the Hindu Mythology.

In 1967 you published your work ‘The Vendor of Sweets’.  

You visited England and got honorary doctorates from the University of Leeds.

In 1970 You published your collection of short stories ‘A Horse and Two Goats’.

You translated ‘Kamba Ramayanam’ to English, your mythological work. It was published in 1973.

In 1977, you published your novel ‘The Painter of Signs’.

In 1978, you translated ‘The Mahabharata’ in Sanskrit.

You got ‘AC Benson Medal’ from the Royal Society of literature of America.

In 1983, you published your Novel ‘A Tiger for Malgudi’.

Narayan was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1990. Later you fell ill and moved to Madras to be close to your daughter’s family in 1994. Your daughter died of cancer and your grand-daughter Bhuvaneswari (Minnie) started taking care.

You published his final novel ‘Grandmother’s Tale’ in May 2001.