The magic of Malgudi

"India's greatest writer in English in the 20th Century"; "absolutely authentic sans pomposity"; "a lean, lucid and understated but wonderfully expressive style"; "a writer's writer"{hellip} such were the phrases used to describe the man who created the immortal town of Malgudi — R.K. Narayan.

Ever since the acclaimed author of 15 novels, travelogues and short stories, passed away in May, this year, there have been several tributes paid. The staff and students of the Department of English, Ethiraj College for Women, thought of a befitting way to remember Narayan by "recreating Malgudi" inside their campus.

Yes, the Albert Mission School, the market place, the railway station and the bank all came alive as did the characters from Narayan's novels such as Raju, the guide, (the girl `playing' escorted the guests on a trip of Malgudi) and Swami and his friends who were seen playing cricket. And there were the soothsayers too. One of them was a lady who actually read palms for a living. She foretold your future{hellip}. but for a price and there were quite a few curious takers!

What really caught one's attention was a display of rare letters, some written by the novelist and others by friends such as Graham Greene, and old editions of his novels. These were loaned by Mr. R.K. Ramachandran, the writer's brother, especially for the occasion. The morning began with Mr R.K. Ramachandran and Mr. N. Ram, Editor, Frontline, sharing their views on Narayan and Malgudi with the enthusiastic students of the college. Justice S. Jagadeesan was the Guest of Honour.

Mr. Ram dwelt on the literary side of Narayan. He spoke of the novelist's "deceptively simple style, which was a fusion of comic with sad, with a philosophy that was understated." He said "central to the achievement was Malgudi, with its ordinary men and women."

While talking about the inception of Malgudi, Narayan is believed to have said that "the name hurled into view and Malgudi was born".

Mr. Ramachandran recalled their childhood together in Mysore. Many incidents have left a deep imprint on his mind. Like he remembers one night, when "it was raining and the electricity had failed. Narayan had gone out and did not return for a long time. My mother got worried. He finally returned after 11.p.m. looking very happy. He found shelter somewhere and had some students and a cow for company!"

Here's another little incident{hellip}Before he took to writing as a profession, Narayan got a teacher's job in the town of Chennapatna, in Karnataka. But he was unhappy there{hellip} with the job, the place and everything else. But Narayan's father was more worried about what his friends, who had got Narayan the job, would say, rather than his "jobless son"!

In fact, Mr. Ramachandran remembered that it was Narayan who got him a job with the Gemini Studios. "Whenever I went to his house in Alwarpet, we would always take a trip down memory lane. We always spoke of our days in Mysore and at the Gemini Studios," said the brother. "Narayan brought with him a festive atmosphere. He was very lively." That line sums up the novelist, whose works will speak for him decades later.

SAVITHA GAUTAM

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