A man going to marry just to please his mother; another with a heartache, finding solace and joy with a lost child; an engine won in a lucky draw that proves to be great trouble; and a child’s forever changing views of his teacher; these are some of the many anecdotes in R.K. Narayan’s Malgudi Days.
Malgudi Days is a collection of 30 stories all set in Malgudi,
a small town in South India in the 1940’s. Each story deals with one or the
other aspect of the day-to-day life of the common man.
Narayan, in his introduction, says,” I have named this volume
MALGUDI DAYS in order to give it a plausibly geographical status. I am often
asked,’ Where is Malgudi?’ All I can say is that it is imaginary and not to be
found anywhere on any map…If I can explain that Malgudi is a small town in
South India I shall only be expressing a half-truth, for the characteristics of
Malgudi seem to me universal.”
Narayan talks about the small problems and confusions that thrive in the lives of the innocent small-town residents.
The common man’s attitude of experiencing happiness in the
smallest of things is indeed infectious. All the stories exhibit, with gentle
irony, the small follies we commit, our small endeavors, and misendeavors just
to see a smile on the face of someone.
The way Narayan has studied human character, and has woven stories
around the commonest of men with the commonest of incidents is indeed artistic.
The habits, way of talking, and being of the common people are brought out with
intricate detail.
Narayan brings out quite wittily the many situations where the
common man proves to be a blundering idiot but is lovable all the same. The
vitality of our belief system and thought process is brought out to us, the
stories remarkably depict how it can be both- our best friend and our greatest
foe.
SO, what are you waiting for??
Find a cozy nook, pick up your copy of the book and delve into
the lives of Malgudi people surprisingly very much like us.
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