Remembering RK Narayan on His Birth Anniversary

RK Narayan introduced Indian writing in English to the world.

(This story was originally published on 13 May 2016 and is being republished from The Quint’s archives to mark RK Narayan’s birth anniversary.)

RK Narayan is one of the most widely read and known Indian authors. He authored Malgudi Days containing multiple stories about Swami and his friends, set in a fictional town of Malgudi. These stories went on to become a popular TV series too.

Narayan is known for his simple, subtle yet humorous style of writing. The fictional character Swami was, in fact, thought to be his alter-ego.

His other works include The Bachelor of Arts (1937), The Dark Room (1938), The English Teacher (1945), The Financial Expert (1952), The Guide (1958), The Man-Eater of Malgudi (1961) and The Godmother’s Tale. His book The Guide was also adapted into a famous Bollywood movie.

He introduced the world to Indian writing in English. For his works, Narayan also won many accolades and awards – the Sahitya Akademi Award for The Guide, the Padma Bhushan in 1964 and the AC Benson Medal by the Royal Society of Literature in 1980.