Timeless Malgudi

A few months back I read a book which was an anthology of R K Narayan’s enduring stories and novellas. Titled ‘The Very Best of R. K. Narayan Timless Malgudi: Timeless Malgudi’ it turned out to be true to its name. It contains lots of stories about Swami and Malgudi, and then there was the famous Guide and Talkative Man. The amazing part of Narayan’s fiction is the characters. One can’t help but feel for them, and wonder what made them what they are.

The story of Raju is about how a normal man becomes a Godman in pursuit of love and money and fame, and partly by chance. The interesting part about Guide is that the Raju you read in the book is very different than the Raju (Dev Anand) you see on screen in the movie. In fact, it was surprising (and somewhat painful) to know in another piece of non-fiction in the same collection titled ‘The Misguided Guide’  (which Narayan wrote after the release of the movie) that he wasn’t happy with the portrayal of Raju and, in general, the adaptation of Guide on screen. In fact, it would be fair to say he was angry, even livid. The Raju on screen and the setup shown have no traces of Malgudi, which you realize after reading the book. What a pity, especially when I actually liked the movie!

Of course, there are other stories which are best read than discussed. Overall, this was a collection that took its time to finish, but was well worth the effort. Quite a collector’s item by the master.

Here is my short review I posted on Amazon:

A Malgudi anthology

Splendid collection of Narayan’s stories including the fantastic Guide and The Talkative Man. Some more Swami excerpts would have been great but the nonfiction pieces were a surprise. Overall, a collector’s item.