About
R. K. Narayan, full name Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayanaswami, was an Indian novelist and short story writer in English. Born in Madras, he grew up in Mysore where he studied before devoting himself to writing. His first novel, Swami and Friends (1935), was published with the help of Graham Greene. Narayan is best known for creating the fictional town of Malgudi, the setting for most of his stories. His major work, The Guide (1958), won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1960. He is regarded, along with Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao, as one of the founding figures of Indian writing in English.
* 1906-10-10 — † 2001-05-13
Major works
- Swami and Friends (1935)novel
- The English Teacher (1945)novel
- The Financial Expert (1952)novel
- The Guide (1958)novel
- The Man-Eater of Malgudi (1961)novel
Key milestones
- 1960Receives the Sahitya Akademi Award for The Guide.
- 1986Nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's Parliament (1986–1992).
- 2000Receives the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honour.
Themes
Everyday life in IndiaThe human conditionHumor and ironyTradition and modernitySpirituality
Sources: britannica.com · oxfordreference.com · catdir.loc.gov