Of stories beyond time and space

Writing a book on RK Narayan is a difficult task. His stories are deceptively simple, but he is consciously doing too many things to impart full justice to the portrayal of the economic, social, and cultural environment in which the common people lead their lives — the late Harsharan Singh Ahluwalia, retired Professor of English at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, could not have put it better. Imaging Malgudi is a result of his life-long fascination with the writer’s works.

Published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, the book takes a keen, while not disregarding the critical, eye on the mastery of detail, amused tolerance and gentle compassion of RK Narayan’s craft of fiction. 

The late Professor’s book also delves into how scholars and critics in India have questioned the greatness which the West finds in Narayan.

For Narayan, he writes, the test of greatness of a work of fiction is two-fold: that it is eminently readable and that it has durability even if the subject which initially inspired it has ceased to be relevant. His works transcend time and space and resonate with readers across the literary world. That is the enduring appeal of RK Narayan’s Malgudi and its people. 

“The world is full of message-givers... one less will not make a difference. I simply write what I see and enjoy writing what I feel. That is all,” was the celebrated writer’s take on his craft. The book is an insightful literary journey. — TNS