…Remembering R.K. Narayan (October 10, 1906- May 13, 2001)

R. K. Narayan’s works are being republished by Everyman’s Library. On May 13th 2006, as the literary world remembers R.K. Narayan, during the fifth anniversary of his death, many more readers in this world will be reading, more likely re-reading, his works. Swami and his Friends, The Bachelor of Arts, The Dark Room, The English Teacher, Mr. Sampath – The Printer of Malgudi, The Financial Expert, Waiting for the Mahatma, are those that have been published in two volumes.
In 1934, Graham Greene came across R. K. Narayan's manuscript, Swami and his Friends. He was impressed and since then started helping him publish his works in Britain. When Graham Greene asked Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan to shorten his name, he must have wisely foreseen R.K. Narayan’s brilliance and popularity.
One of the greatest Indian writers to dazzle the literary world with his unique voice, gentle humor and simple writing style, R.K. Narayan’s south Indian town of Malgudi is stranger to none. He can truly be credited with bringing the culture and traditions and life of Southern India to the rest of the world.
Son of a headmaster and the youngest of eight children, R.K. Narayan was born in Madras in 1906 and educated in Mysore. His life and writings were influenced by personal tragedies and through each of them he emerged a better writer. A prolific Veena artiste and a disciple of the great Veena artiste, Doraiswami Iyengar, he turned to music as solace during his periods of darkness. Somerset Maugham, and E.M. Forster were among R.K. Narayan’s contemporaries and friends. Malgudi Days one of R.K. Narayan’s collections of short stories, perhaps among his best works, was also made into a television serial.
(Possible Inset) R. K. Narayan's Published Works
• 1935: Swami And Friends
• 1937: Bachelor Of Arts
• 1938: The Dark Room
• 1939: Mysore
• 1945: The English Teacher
• 1947: An Astrologer's Day, And Other Stories
• 1949: Mr. Sampath - The Printer Of Malgudi
• 1952: The Financial Expert
• 1953: Grateful To Life And Death
• 1955: Waiting For The Mahatma
• 1956: Lawley Road, And Other Stories
• 1958: The Guide
• 1960: Next Sunday : Sketches And Essays
• 1961: The Man-Eater Of Malgudi
• 1964: My Dateless Diary: An American Journey
• 1965: Gods, Demons, And Others
• 1967: The Vendor Of Sweets
• 1970: A Horse And Two Goats, Stories
• 1972: The Ramayana; A Shortened Modern Prose Version
• 1974: My Days
• 1974: Reluctant Guru
• 1976: The Painter Of Signs
• 1978: The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version
• 1980: The Emerald Route
• 1982: Malgudi Days
• 1983: A Tiger For Malgudi
• 1985: Under The Banyan Tree And Other Stories
• 1986: Talkative Man
• 1988: A Writer's Nightmare: Selected Essays
• 1989: A Story-Teller's World: Stories, Essays, Sketches
• 1990: The World Of Nagaraj
• 1992: Malgudi Landscapes: The Best Of R.K. Narayan
• 1993: The Grandmother's Tale: Three Novellas
• 1993: Salt & Sawdust: Stories And Table Talk