While reading the above-mentioned books over the last few months, I got a chance to have a meaningful discussion with a book-lover friend. When you are reading a series of short stories or excerpts and some non-fiction in a book of 400 pages, it is easy to lose interest often. When one story is over, you say goodbye to those characters and quickly move on to the next ones. And the characters themselves are so different, some are just interesting whereas some could be overwhelming. I hope this explanation serves as a caveat or my justification of what follows. Well, I tried. This year, I am also reading O Henry's short stories and the pace is jagged for the same reasons but more of O Henry later.
1. Malgudi Landscapes, edited by S Krishnan
A delightful mix of excerpts from novels, short stories, essays and travel diaries.
🏘 The short stories made a lasting impact. The topics and genres are diverse. 'A horse and two goats', a casual encounter between an American and a broke, native man who does not know English set during colonial India reveals Narayan's knack for comic timing. This was way better on paper when compared with the adaptation. 'Uncle' is a poignant story of a man's childhood memory of one incident when he visits a photo shop and is made to wait alone for the framing of a photo as a young boy. Although the memory is the bulk of the short story, the closing comments by the narrator make one introspect how that event may have led to some of his decisions later in life. This one will remain with me for a long time. 'Selvi', a star singer with humble beginnings, 'Annamalai', the gardener, Sam aka 'Lucifer', the nurse were such compelling personalities that Narayan eternalised them on paper.
🏘 In his novels, we meet the common people - people with professions - and experience their daily rigmaroles, where the stories are set mostly during the near decades of Indian Independence. Sometimes, there is some insight on colonialism in the southern part of India through short episodes of civil disobedience, or the education system in missionary schools and their influence on Indian societies. 'The English Teacher', supposedly the most autobiographical of all his novels, piqued my interest. The excerpt in this book reveals the relationship between the teacher and his wife as a young couple through a routine incident. 'The World of Nagaraj', an accountant who is also writing a thesis on Narada and faces a temporary predicament in his family, also made me want to read more of it.
My major challenge was that the common thread of Malgudi, the same streets, and locales, the railway station, the same Mempi forest, and the hills and recurring minor characters made it hard to remember some of the titles. I had to make mental notes to differentiate the Bachelor of Arts and The English Teacher which are both autobiographical in parts. I might mix up the stories of Nataraj and Nagaraj as one of these is a titular character. I skipped a couple of stories to avoid more confusion, and the Guide and Waiting for the Mahatma as these are in my to-read list.
🏘Essays could be the true indication of his wisdom which deepened, perceptibly, as he aged. Sharing a far-sighted remark below from The Reluctant Guru, 1974:
"...if you question him, you will find that our man has not given any serious thought to yoga and such subjects. Perhaps at a later date he may take to it when his more materialistic problems are over and when he begins to note that it's quite the fashion in your part of the world. At the moment the trend appears that he is coming in your direction, and you are going in his. So, logically speaking, in course of time, you may have to come to India for technology and the Indian will have to come to your country for spiritual research."
Apparently, Americans and some Indians in America thought him to be a mystic and astrologer based on his book, Guide. This brings me to his experience during the making of the movie. To make it spectacular, they changed the originally chosen locations from places near Mysore to Rajasthan and Delhi, they even changed the story and one of the main characters. The Hollywood director even went on to add a non-existent fight scene between a real tiger and a leapord for symbolism! He wanted one of the predators to die in real!! The list of celebrities associated with the movie is so full of disbelief that I recommend reading this book just for this particular piece, Misguided Guide.
🏘 The travel diaries reveal some more of his intimate personality. Whereas the episode in California, Berkeley about missing a train while at an empty train station is funny and unfolds the venturesome and nonchalant side of his personality, his spiritual travel to Sringeri feels like a serene experience and at the same time informational.
🏘 The parts from his mythological works are where he seems to take a neutral approach. The glory of the city of Mithila when Rama sets foot for the first time was new to me (Ramayana). The story on Bheema and Bakasura (Mahabharatha) certainly stirred my memory of hearing it from my mother, the details of which I had forgotten. The editor S Krishnan did a good job in selecting these stories. With mythology, I felt that Narayan may have sincerely translated the works rather than retelling them in his style. The job of a translator is hard - to adopt another's creative content and recreate it in other words without losing the essence.
2. Malgudi Adventures.
These are excerpts from his novels targeted at children. I felt that it is a confusing mix where the range of reader's ages is broader.
Would children even in higher-primary or middle-school understand the nuances in 'The Framing Shop' (originally titled Uncle) which I have mentioned above or 'The Navaratri Adventure', which has children decorating the traditional doll stand but actually about the travails of their mother, a mistreated housewife?
One story that stands out is 'A Tiger in the School'. It is hilarious and apt for even younger children above five. This was so imaginative and yet realistic that it made me want to read the full novel. 'Leela and the Headmaster' was a surprise. Reformed schools, with informal setups, seemed to have started decades ago!! This excerpt is another reason to arouse my interest in The English Teacher.
A few other excerpts may not serve any other purpose than to reflect the state of the society in those times among which 'A Cobra for a Companion' is quite moving. It is about a boy whose snake-charmer father leaves him with only a snake as a means of livelihood.
That said, I am glad that Narayan found a readership in Graham Greene who helped bring his books to readers in England which, in turn, helped him find an English language audience in India. The characters of Swami, Mani, Rajam are etched in our minds and hearts forever.
One last comment: I don't even know what is 'On The Sands of the Sarayu', a tale of a young man's infatuation, doing in a book meant for children.
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Some of the stories find a place in both of the above books. Ending this post by adding that Narayan is another mavin when it comes to words. If you want to add lots and lots of new words to your vocab, dig right into his works. Although, I cannot guarantee that the words will hold your attention. Narayan's power seems to lie in his characters.
