R.K. Narayan - 1906 - 2001

Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Narayan (October 10, 1906 - May 13, 2001) was an Indian novelist. His novels are characterised by Chekhovian simplicity and gentle humour. Characters in his novels tend to be very down-to-earth. His novels are all set in an imaginary place called Malgudi which is a typical South Indian town.

His writing career began with Swami and Friends. At first, he could not get the novel published. He then sent a draft to Graham Greene, who liked it so much that he arranged for its publication. Greene was to remain a close friend and admirer of his. After that, he published a continuous stream of novels, all set in Malgudi and each dealing with different characters in that fictional place. Autobiographical content forms a significant part of some of his novels, for example, The English Teacher.

Many of Narayan's works are rooted in everyday life, though he is not shy of invoking Hindu tales or traditional Indian folklore to emphasize a point. His easy-going outlook on life has sometimes been criticized, though in general he is viewed as an accomplished, sensitive and reasonably prolific writer.

List of his major works (in chronological order) :

• Swami and Friends, 1935
• Bachelor of Arts, 1937
• The Dark Room, 1938
• The English Teacher, 1945
• An Astrologer's Day and Other Stories, 1947
• Mr. Sampath - The Printer of Malgudi, 1949
• The Financial Expert, 1952
• Grateful to Life and Death, 1953
• Waiting for the Mahatma, 1955
• Lawley Road and Other Stories, 1956
• The Guide, 1958, made into a Hindi movie by Dev Anand
• Next Sunday : sketches and essays, 1960
• The Man-Eater of Malgudi, 1961
• My Dateless Diary, 1964
• Gods, Demons, and Other Stories, 1965
• The Vendor of Sweets, 1967
• A Horse and two Goats, and Other stories, 1970
• The Ramayana; a shortened modern prose version, 1972
• My Days, 1974
• The Painter of Signs, 1976
• Reluctant Guru, 1974
• The Mahabharata: a shortened modern prose version, 1978
• The Emerald Route, 1980
• Malgudi Days, 1982
• A Tiger for Malgudi, 1983
• Under the Banyan Tree and Other Stories, 1985
• The Talkative Man, 1986
• A Story-Teller's World: Stories, Essays, Sketches, 1989
• The World of Nagaraj, 1990