R.K. Narayan's Fiction: India in Transition

Abstract

R.K. Narayan (1906-2001), a novelist of international repute and recipient of many awards, has virtually become synonymous with Indian English literature. Of course, his remarkable gift of story-telling, the special local flavor of his stories, the extraordinary assortment of odd, eccentric, yet charming characters, his own charming genial humor and highly enjoyable sparkling wit, his rootedness in Indian Myths, his objectivity, imaginative insight and sympathy-all contribute to his enduring popularity. However, another notable and important feature of Narayan's oeuvre is his presentation of India in transition and the effect that this process or period of change has on individuals. In this paper, I have endeavored to trace out the social, cultural and economic changes that have brought about the transition in Indian life on the basis of my reading of R.K. Narayan’s three novels-The Dark Room (1938), The Guide (I958) and The Painter of Signs (1976). These three novels were published between 1938 and 1976- a period which saw not only the last phase of British Colonial rule in India and the subsequent emergence of independent India but also the birth of a completely new world order.