Biography of R. K. Narayan
Born in 1906 in Madras;
Learns arithmetic, mythology, classical Indian music and Sanskrit from his maternal grandmother;
At twelve participated in pro-independence march, for which he was reprimanded by his uncle;
Being a good student he failed both in high school and intermediate;
The failure makes him introvert and he tries to commit suicide;
Graduated from Maharaja College, Mysore in 1930;
Obtained a degree just at the age of 24;
Being persuaded by a friend starts a job in a school before completing M A;
In 1930 wrote his 1st novel Swami and Friends;
Falls in love with Rajam in 1933;
Got married with Rajam in 1934 despite of financial obstracles;
Death of his wife in 1939 leaving a daughter of 3 years;
After the wedding of his daughter began traveling in 1956;
The Guide was written while visiting USA;
In 1956 during his visit to England met his friend Graham Greene;
In 1961 once again visited the USA and Australia;
By this achieved significant success both Literary and financial spheres;
Started writing both home and abroad in magazines and newspapers;
In 1967 received honorary doctorate from the University of Leeds;
Translated the Ramayana and the Mahabharata in English;
In 1980 he was elected an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters;
In 1980 won Ac Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature;
Around 1980 his works were translated to Chinese;
In 1980 he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha;
In 1958 received the Sahitya Akademy Award for The Guide;
Received the film fare award for the best story after The Guide was made into a film;
In 1964 he received the Padma Bhushan during the republic day;
In 2001 he was awarded India’s second highest civilian honor the Padma Bhibhushan;
Died in 2001.
- Full name of the author : Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan
- Full title of the text : The Guide
- Publication Date : November 1, 1958
- Publisher name and place : Viking Press(First American Edition)
- Name of the Protagonist : Raju
- Who is the major female character : Rosie
- What is she? She is an M.A. in Economics though she becomes a famous dancer.
- Type of work : Novel
- Narrative Points of View: There is a wonderful mingling of first person and omniscient point of view has given a special flavor to the story.
- Narrative Tense : past tense
- Setting (Time): 20th century
- Climax: The climax of the novel can be the forgery of Raju and his going of prison because it changes his entire life and the story turns into a different one out of a mere love story.
- Place : The story takes place in a fictional town of India, Malgudi. The village Mangala is also in India as the culture says it.
- Major themes: Human Relationship, Love, Money, Identity Crisis, transformation of Raju.
- Two major conflicts: The exposition of Raju and Rosie’s illicit relationship to Marco and Raju’s decision of fasting for the villagers of mangala are two major conflicts of the novel.
- Name and Designation of the major characters: Raju- railway Raju,Swami, Mahatma. Rosie – dance. Marco – archeologist.
- Where is Malgudi? There is no existence of this town in this world. It is a fictional town created by R.K. Narayan.
- Difference between Parochial and Regional: Regional is one type of literary work in which the geographical area of one region is included and in Parochial work both religion and culture of an area is included. The Guide is a Parochial type where Indian culture and religion is focused.
- Who is called a Picaro? Picaro is a person who plays the role of a rogue or villain, plays many roles, and wears many masks.
- Name some picaro heroes: Huckleberry Finn, Raju, and Don Juan.
- What do you mean by picaresque novels? It is one type of novel, which deals with the adventures, and excitement of rogues and villains. The guide deals with Raju’s adventures.
- What do you understand by Bharat Natyam ?
- Bharat Natyam is considered to be most faithful style in relation to the rules enunciated in the “Natyashastra” a treatise about drama, dance and music . It was written around 2000 years ago by the sage Bharata Muni, hence it is called Bharat Natyam.It comprises three aspects such as Nritta, Nritya, Natya.
- Who is Nataraja? What does he signify?
- Nataraja is the Lord of Dance. The image of his rhythmic play is the source of all movement of the universe. The purpose of his dance is to release the souls of all men from the snare of illusion.
- What do you mean by the following terms?
Sadhu
In Hinduism Sadhu is a good holy man who denotes an ascetic, wandering monk. Sadhu is solely dedicated to achieving moksa. In this novel Raju life in the temple is almost like a Sadhu.
Yogi
It is derived from the root Yuj, which means unite. The practice of yogi may lead to the union of the human with the divine- all within the self.
Sanyasi
Sanyasi is a person who lives outside the social fold.There arw places where a sanyasi can live, such as monasteries. He does not have any bond such, though he can raise meal through accepting alms and by attending people’s houses as a guest.
Muni
In Buddhism, one who has progressed far on the way to enlightenment is called Muni. : In Hinduism, a Muni is a man who has magical powers and has renounced worldly pursuits and has chosen an austere life or religious activities.
Rishi
Rishi denotes the composers of Vedic hymns. One of the fundamental quality of a Rishi is to speaking truth. The rishi is a ‘seer’ to whom the Vedas were originally revealed through states of higher consciousness.
Swami
Swami means master; it means striving for the mastery over one’s smaller self and habit patterns so that the eternal self within may come shining through.
Guru
Guru is master like swami or teacher. Guru dispels the darkness of ignorance.
- What do you mean by jiban mukta? Jiban mukta is someone who has attained the realization of the self and is liberated from rebirth while living in a human body.
- Who is the original ‘Mahatma’? What does he signify? One who sacrifices one’s self for others is called Mahatma. According to Hindu Mythology Mahatma Buddha is the original Mahatma.
- According to Vedantasara, what two qualities make a shishya? Two major qualities of a shishya are loyalty to Guru and truthfulness.
- In Hindu metaphysics, what does avidya signify? Avidya is defined as “ seeing the eternal, pure, delightful, and essential in temporal, impure, distressing, and inessential.
- What is maya? Maya means love and affection for worldly things and beings. What is mohini?
- Mohini (Sanskrit: Mohinī), in Hindu mythology, is the name of the only female Avatar of the god Vishnu. She is portrayed as a femme fatale, an enchantress, who maddens lovers, sometimes leading them to their doom. Mohini is introduced into the Hindu mythos in the narrative epic of the Mahabharata
- What is Atman? Atman means ‘self’. In vedanta it refers to one’s true self beyond identification with phenomena.
- What does Karma mean? Karma is the concept of action or deed understood as that, which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect.
- What does nirvana in Buddhism mean? The Buddha described nirvana as the perfect peace of the state of mind that is free from craving, anger, and other afflicting states.
- Show your acquaintance with the concept of moksha? In Indian religion moksha or muktin literally ‘released’ through the suffering of the world and rebirth.
- Which year R.k. Narayan receive Sahitya Akademi award for The Guide? In 1960.
- List of all the Hindi/indigenous words and the page numbers: What do you think are the reasons that Rosie and Marco failed to develop any successful conjugal life? Marco’s extreme devotion towards his study and carelessness towards his fascinating young wife is the major reason of their failure. Rosie is also responsible as she makes an illegal relationship with Raju not only for love but to materialize her dream of dancing. Raju also takes the opportunity of the frustration and unhappy mood of Rosie and builds up the relation. When Marco realizes the truth, the relationship between Marco and Rosie ends pathetically.
- Do you think that Raju and Rosie fall in love with each other for the same/similar reasons? What do you think attract Rosie to Raju? As a very attractive person Raju is a romantic who falls in love with Rosie at first sight. But Rosie weakness for Raju is not only for love but for her dancing art. Again Raju possesses all the qualities which Marco lack. Raju’s sense of human psychology favors him to take the chance. Raju’s caring attitude, his love and passion also attracts Rosie towards him.
- Who seduces who?
Raju seduces Rosie because it is Raju who first persuades Rosie and allures her to become an artist.
- What is Marco?
Marco is a professional archeologist and always devoted to his study.
- How do see Rosie’s relation with Marco before and after her elopement with Raju? Is she a flirt? Or as Raju thinks of her a liar-seducer?
Rosie becomes much careful towards Marco after her elopement with Raju from the sense of guiltiness. She is neither a faithful wife nor a devoted lover. Her intention is not to flirt with Raju but she fails to establish her identity anywhere. It is the problem with Rosie that she does not know what to do. She goes as the events drive her. Still we cannot call her a flirt or seducer.
- What factors operate to develop the breach between Rosie and Raju? Do you think any or both of them are responsible for this separation?
Both Rosie and Raju are responsible for the breach. Rosie’s establishment as an artist is the major cause because she remains hours and hours with artists and actors and becomes careless towards Raju. Again Rosie’s feelings for Marco makes her bored in the profession. This attitude of Rosie creates a sense of inferiority in Raju as he feels afraid. Later on out of his insecurity and jealousy, he commits forgery. This event brings an eternal breach between them and Rosie leaves him to lead an independent life.
- Why do you think Raju goes for forging Rosie’s signature? Is this act logical enough?
Raju’s forgery is an illegal act, which is responsible for the breach between Rosie and Raju. It is a flaw in his character though he does it for his own security. Raju forges Rosie’s signature for not only the jewelry box but also its association with Marco. He thinks that it will prove Marco’s generosity and Rosie will be weaker towards Marco. Moreover, Raju is somewhat greedy to find the box as he waits to receive the parcel by forging Rosie’s signature. Though we feel for Raju who tries his best to keep Rosie with him, his forgery is an illegal act.
- Rosie belongs to family of professional dancing girls. What are these girls like?
Though Rosie is a born dancer, she does not grow up as a dancer. She is an M.A. in economics. Professional dancing girls do not treat dancing as an art rather as a way of earning money. Very often, they flirt with many people only for money. Though Rosie has a great affection for dancing, her intention is not to make money but she likes art for art’s sake. Professional dancing girls do not bother about art at all.
- Traditionally what does a snake- girl signify? Is Rosie a snake girl?
In Indian context, the idea of snake girl is associated with someone who worships snake. More so, it indicates bad women who follow tricks in order to attract others. Though Raju’s mother and his uncle call Rosie a snake girl, Rosie is not so. Dancing is favorite Rosie for which she leaves Marco. She wants to be free in her profession and finds true love from Raju. Only for this reason, we cannot call her a snake girl. Again, at the very beginning of their relationship, it is not Rosie who attracts Raju rather Raju attracts Rosie emotionally.
- Symbols Narayan employs in the novel are mostly indigenous. What do the animal images symbolize?
The descriptions of animals comes when Raju, Rosie and Marco stay at Peak House. These animals symbolize the instinctual part of human being. This instinct is so powerful that our consciousness becomes defeated to it as it is happened to Rosie and Raju.
- Why does Velan’s brother misreport what Raju said about fasting? Do you think this incident is forced?
Velan’s brother is half-witted and the incident is not forced. The boy is a fool that he misinterprets Raju’s message. As he is half-witted, he is not allowed to go to Swami. Getting a favorable chance, he visits the saint and after his return from the saint, everybody asks what the saint said. Therefore, he tells a lie out of his fear that he has talked to the saint about rain. This event is forced but the message of his fasting is misinterpreted with the earlier answer. The irony is that the cause of Raju’s ultimate martyrdom was the folly of an idiot.
Mempi Peak House
The Peak House was perched on the topmost cliff on Mempi Hills. Marco stays there for one month while researching on archeology in Mempi Cave Pictures.
- Joseph: Joseph is the caretaker of the Peak House. He is a Christian and very faithful and caring towards Marco. His village is two miles away from Peak House.
- 12 days:
As a Mahatma , Raju is called upon to undertake a twelve –day fast so that there may be rain, and the starving villagers of Mangala may be saved.
- Pyol:
Pyol is the name of a school where Raju reads at his childhood. In this school there is only one teacher. The students of these types of schools are also from middle or lower middle class family. The teacher is paid one rupee per month for each boy.
- Gaffur-The driver:
Gaffur is a minor flat character in The Guide. In the earlier days of Raju’s job as a tourist guide Gaffur was his best friend. Gaffur is a practical man not so romantic and high ambitious like Raju. He knew that Raju was making love with Rosie. That time Raju becomes bored on him. After Rosie’s arrival to Raju, Raju goes for money to Gaffur and Gaffur refuses to give him money and leaves him. The arrival Rosie makes a breach between their friendships.
- Mempi Cave Pictures:
These are some painting on Mempi cave. Again, this is a chapter on the book The cultural History of South India , written by Marco Polo. The caves of Mempi Hills is discovered by Marco and he researches on the paintings. In this chapter, Marco acknowledges Raju’s contribution on his research.
- Room no.28:
It is situated on the second floor of Anand Bhavan Hotel where Rosie and Marco stay. Again it is the room where Raju and Rosie build up an extra-marital relationship in the absence of Marco.