Biography of R.K. Narayan free essay sample

Nearly 70 years ago, Indias greatest writer in English, took out a brand new notebook and wrote in it: It was Monday morning. With those four words, Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Narayan fondly known as R. K. Narayan to most took off on a journey to that oddly populated fictional continent called Malgudi, with the young boy Swami and his eclectic mix of friends. R. K. Narayan was born on October 10, 1906 in Madras. His father was a provincial head master. R. K. Narayan spent his early childhood with his grandmother in Madras. They mostly conversed in English, and grammatical errors on the part of Narayan and his siblings were frowned upon. Narayan was an avid reader, and his early literary diet included Dickens, Wodehouse, Arthur Conan Doyle, etc. R. K. Narayan studied for eight years at Lutheran Mission School, close to his grandmothers house in Madras. The well-stocked library at the school fed his reading habit. We will write a custom essay sample on Biography of R.K. Narayan or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page After completing high school, Narayan joined Maharaja College of Mysore. He briefly held a job as a school teacher; however, he quit in protest when the headmaster of the school asked him to substitute for the physical training master. [9] The experience made Narayan realise that the only career for him was in writing, and he decided to stay at home and write novels. his family and friends respected and supported his unorthodox choice of career. [16] In 1930, Narayan wrote his first novel,Swami and Friends,[15] an effort ridiculed by his uncle[17] and rejected by a string of publishers. Narayan shot to worldwide fame through his friend and mentor Graham Greene, who found publishers for Narayan’s first four novels. [8] With this book, Narayan created Malgudi, a town that creatively reproduced the social sphere of the country. in 1933, Narayan married Rajam, despite many astrological and financial obstacles. Narayan became a reporter for a Madras based paper called The Justice, dedicated to the rights of non-Brahmins. The publishers were thrilled to have a Brahmin Iyer in Narayan espousing their cause. Narayan’s wife Rajam died due to typhoid in the year 1939. Her death shattered Narayan, who mourned for a long period. The bereavement brought about a significant change in his life and was the inspiration behind his next novel, The English Teacher Narayans greatest achievement was making India accessible to the outside world through his literature. R. K. Narayans famous works include The Bachelor of Arts, The Dark Room, The English Teacher, The Financial Expert ,The Guide ,The Man-Eater of Malgudi ,The Vendor of Sweets ,Malgudi Days and The Grandmothers Tale . R. K. Narayan won numerous awards and honors for his works including Sahitya Akademi Award for The Guide, Padma Bhushan , and AC Benson Medal by the Royal Society of Literature . He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha . Narayan has created with quiet honesty and moral seriousness, a unique fictional world out of the ordinary and daily lives of people in the small towns of the South, whose characters are drawn with sharp precision and subtle irony. His narratives have the lightness of touch which only the craftsman of the highest order can risk. His endearing creation of the town of Malgudi and its intriguing and eccentric inhabitants has captured the hearts and minds of readers worldwide. Once Narayan said, â€Å"I hope to write till my fingers fall off. Happily, 70 years later, neither have Narayans fingers fallen off, nor have his readers’ fingers grown tired of thumbing through his absurd caricatures and grotesqueries. Sadly R. K. Narayan passed away on May 13, 2001. Malgudi lives on. And so does his writing.