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Unit 13: Short Story: R.K. Narayan’s Malgudi Days

Malgudi Days is an immensely enjoyable collection of short stories. The language of the Notes
author is simple but quite eloquent and words paint the world of Malgudi right in front of our
eyes. The place where it was the most prominent for me is when author describes the ruins
of Mantapam:

The Mantapam was an ancient pillared structure, with all its masonry cracking and crumbling
down the tank bund. … the muddy smell of the place, the sky seen through the cracking
arches and the far off hillocks.
There are many other instances of such beauty in the book like describing a garden, a hut,
marketplace, a cinema hall, or a wayward railway station. The characterization in short stories
is appropriate to the medium and we get a good glimpse into the lives of the people Narayan
decides to talk about. He draws a very vivid picture of the lives of those involved, be it a
snake charmer, a domestic help, a celebrity singer, people traveling together in a railway
coach or a pickpocket.

Malgudi Days is an extremely good collection of short stories about the life of people living
in India, though it has a feel of an earlier era. I will recommend it wholeheartedly. I consider
it a very good example of talking about mystical India without putting a derogatory slant to it.
Narayan broke through with the help of his mentor and friend, Graham Greene, who was
instrumental in getting publishers for Narayan’s first four books, including the semi-autobiographical
trilogy of Swami and Friends, The Bachelor of Arts and The English Teacher. Narayan’s works
also include The Financial Expert, hailed as one of the most original works of 1951, and
Sahitya Akademi Award winner The Guide, which was adapted for films in Hindi and English
languages, and for Broadway.

Malgudi Days is the collection of stories by R.K Narayan, which are very famous and interesting
also.

Malgudi Days is the collection of some short stories set at the backdrop of the author‘s make-
believe village Malgudi. This is the place where all of Narayan‘s characters were living their
life in a friendly manner. The title of the book aptly depicts the meaning as the stories are all
about the life style in Malgudi. The different character, each having their personal life as well
as village community really takes the reader at that scenario which is only possible by such
great author like R. K. Narayan.

Did u know? The author R. K. Narayan is the best at his work. He created a lot of stories
in a very lucid and transparent manner. Among which the Malgudi Days is the most
famous collection.

He began his career with writing short stories, which were appeared mostly in The Hindu and
also worked for some time as the Mysore correspondent for Justice, which was a Madras-
based newspaper. His first work ‘Swami and Friends‘ was delayed for lack of publishing
support. Graham Greene, through his mutual friend, was so much moved by Narayan‘s new
work and he supported it for publishing through monitory support as well as other guidance.
After this novel, a stream of novels based on Malgudi flourished one after another. In 1980,
R. K. Narayan was awarded the A. C. Benson award by the Royal Society of Literature and
was made an Honorary Member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.

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