R.K.Narayan as a world class writer and an artist of a superior status.

A man of simple nature,

he reflects this quality in his works. It is a sort of feigned simplicity which he employs in his
creative process. There is an effective way of portraying his characters true to life that simply
sticks to the heart of the readers. Almost all his novels have an evergreen readable quality.

“His (Narayan's) narrative technique enables

Narayan to present a microcosm of Indian society.
He avoids authorial comments and employs irony as
a vision, not as a device. His humour is never
satirical. He tries to offer an objective view
point and includes comments as a part of
description and narration.” (Atma Ram Perspective on
R.K.Narayan

In this way, Narayan wishes the readers not to find any implicit suggestions in his art. His art is
born out of his creative imagination and as Uma Parameswaran calls, "there is nothing more,
nothing less" (Native Genius). One cannot dismiss Narayan as a mere story teller since a writer
cannot produce a work of art just as he wishes. Any art is a product of the milieu in which it is
written. Though Narayan himself claims that there is nothing in between in his writings, it is
worthy to take a serious note of it. Narayan’s works are deeply rooted in the Indian soil.
Narayan himself has expressed the view that a writer must have roots in his own culture. It
reflects the life that is lived in India. The middle class and the lower middle class life find an
important place in his writings. The characters that are portrayed by him are rather ordinary
than extraordinary. There are plenty of sanyasis, sorcerers, criminals in his creations.
Grandmothers, children, teachers, shopkeepers, printers are abound.
The characters that one finds in Narayan's work are onedimensional.
The scope for the elasticity of meaning in
introducing a character or a situation is very limited. He places
a character in the Malgudi milieu and then to his whims and
fancies, he plays with the creation. The author is concerned with
the oddities and the angularities of the characters. He creates
a character and with a deft pen, he contrives situations and
avoids complexity or satire. Narayan's characters take life as it
comes by and do not revolutionize their existence.

Narayafl'S heroes do not exhibit heroism nor do they undertake

a journey to quench their ambition. They are ordinary beings who
are found commonly in one's neighbourhood. They are not cunning
and calculative but calm and curious. They while away the time in
engaging themselves in mundane activities even though some are
philosophica l in mind. Swami, Chandran, Ramani, Raju, Raman,
Nataral are quite a few creations who merely exist in the Malgudi
maze. The women characters are all the more insipid and uninspiring
when considered individuall y . Grandmothers make the atmosphere
lively by their glib tongue and practical wisdom, affection and
understanding. Mothers are always given a secondar y place and do
not have any say in the running of the household. A total of 15 novels, over 200 short stories
and four books

of non-fiction give ample evidence of his creative talent. He

specializes in the comic vision. He does not enter the realm of

self in his writing. His characters also do not achieve any self

realization. Narayan uses irony in his narration to bring out the inherent
weaknesses of the human predicament. And this situation leads him
to his triumphs and tragedies, laughter and tears. The prime
significance is given to comedy and humour. These attributes are
closely woven into the structure of his prose. The narration is
simple in form. There is no breach between the plot and the
character. They are always bonded together. The novels are
carefully segmented with a beginning, middle and an end. The
action progresses naturally and a coherent move from one situation
to the other is noticed. There is a completeness at the end of the
novel since when all ends well and the reader has a satisfied
feeling that all characters are safe and happy. There is no room
for tragedy though there is ample scope for tension and f ear/

NaraYan just holds the mirror upto the society without

passing any value judgement. He is always detached in his
characterization and in his mode of narration. He is able to
successfully retain an aesthetic distance between his works and
himself. There is always a significance for delight and joy in
Narayan'S writing purpose.There is always a same kind of narrative
strategy in his works. The narration is done either in the first
person or in the third person. A detached, humorous voice is heard
in his narrative tone. There is absolutely no emotional
involvement in the characters created. Rather, the relationship
between the creator and the created is rational. Narayan echoes this sentiment in his writings.
His
identification of people's frailities does not affect or wound
their sensitivity. In fact they are amused by their follies and so
they are not at all offended. Another factor which is worth
mentioning is that his focus of attention is on the lighter side
of life. He does not take into consideration such profound things
as considered by Hardy, Lawrence, Jane Austen or Dickens.

Malgudi is a small Municipal town which has gradual and

si gnificant growth right from its birth, in Swami and Friends. /The
major landmark is the Sarayu river and its two enchanting banks.
Sarayu is always a part of the Malgudian psyche that people
consider this as an escapist's paradiseo Swami and his friends
have their retreat here. Narayan's portrayal of Malgudians are thoroughly human and
convincing. The setting of Malgudi comes alive in every one of
Narayan's novels.

Narayan's themes also are equally simple in nature and

manner. They deal mainly with a small segment of human life and
the actions that happen around them There is nothing extravagant
or tumultous but rather calm and solemn. Some themes have a mixture
of the comic and the tragic that is borne out of the incongruities
of life. One can very easily set the pattern of a Narayan novel.
The traditional way of life is always focussed upon as the theme of his novels. In his most
modern novels he tackles the most vexing issues in contemporary
Indian life, namely the man-woman relationship. The Financial Expert,
The Vendor of Sweets, The Guide, Talkativc Man are some of the novels in
which he has consciously ventured into this realm. Iarayan assumes the role of a commentator
of the
society. With the help of irony and comedy he keeps very close to
the reality. His aim is to picture the tragic-comic possibility of
ordinary life. The everyday reality has found a new exponent in
Narayan. He just leaves away happenings that do not come under his
comic perview. In this way, he turns as a selector. He is so very
subtle that he chooses very carefully only the comic side of the
contemporary.
(7hough Narayan's works are simple and ordinary, they
definitely do not fall into triviality. His plots often contain
cultural backgrounds, beliefs in supernatural elements and
familial disturbances./ Paternal love is a significant refrain in
Narayan'S fiction.
Though Narayan concentrates in evoking laughter, there is
also a deep concern for the problems that are prevalent in the
society. The power of his comedy pushes this vision into the
background. A combination of delicate humour and subtle irony
shrouds his characters, plot, narration and his language. His art
has some concern for the middle class. The reason for choosing
this class as the society for his novels is because of the care
and interest he has for them.