First published in the New Yorker, September 15, 1962 in an essay titled ‘The train had just arrived at Malgudi Station’
***
“R.K. Narayan told me about his Mysore day. It begins with a three- or four-hour stroll. He considers his morning walk his office hours, because he stops and talks to people, many of whom chat with him freely about their doings or their troubles, or give him advice about renting his house (empty houses bring bad luck) or about making profits on his books, which they cannot read. Only a few ask him for practical help, probably because they know him to be a mere writer; most demand his ear and his sympathy.
“If, on his promenade, Narayan sees three or four men in a huddle, he observes their ways closely. In his many years of living in Mysore, he has made friends among artisans, businessmen, lawyers, teachers—the man and women of his novels. After lunch, he may do an hour or two of writing—his limit for a day’s serious work. He composes fast, and two thousand words in a couple of hours is not an unusual achievement for him.
“I am an inattentive, quick writer who has little sense of style,” he said candidly. Once he has written the first few pages of a novel, he seldom retouches a sentence, believing that writing is “a dovetailing process,” by which he means that a novel well begun writes itself.
“After his writing, he meditates, and his barren room is especially suited to that. He begins his exercises by reading a little bit of the puranas, or Sanskrit sacred poems, after which he repeatedly recites to himself the Gayatri Mantra, a prayer to the light that illuminates the sun to illuminate all minds. After he has had a short rest, the late afternoon finds him at his family’s house; he dines, then makes the rounds of his intimate friends, and goes home to bed.”
India-born Ved Mehta was a staff writer of the New Yorker from 1961 to 1994, and has authored two-dozen books.
***
Also see: The life in a day of R.K. Narayan
yeh i read the article more over i seen in tv in ETV about ur care and campaassion to mr R K narayana works.
I am geat fan of MR RKN. I read some stories od him and more over i watched some of episodes of MALGUDI DAys in TV which was shot in Agumbe which city is near to my home town thirthahali.
Sirs your are doing great works. I suuggest the fallowing:
1. Lets make an attempt to publish his works in kannada laungage.
2. Exibitions of his works and VICHARA GOSTIS of his works every wheei karnataka
3. Malgudi days , (old one) which starring shankarnag and ananthnag , make an effort to in kannada channels in kannada lauangage.
4. malgudi days which was shat at agumbe make an effort to make an grand function in that place i any season,screening of his films ,featurefilms if any, or reading his novels by reputant authers many more…
I this these will not be remain as suggstions, Your group will thing to excute it . I hope. I am not a bare suggester, if u need any help i am with you, evn i dont know any one of you.
Madhukara Maiya
Advocate
Thanks for a fine piece. I am a novice blogger struggling to write, and to think RKN did it with such ease!
Raja Rao passed away this morning. I have heard that Mr.Rao wrote a novel in kannada? Till date, I have never been able to locate it. I hope churumuri pays homage to one of the best writers of english from India/mysore.
I read Mr.Rao’s book “Serpent and the rope” while in high school in the early ninties. I stumbled upon his book, But I will never forget the beauty his prose captured. I will never forget the characters of Rama and Maddo ( maddeleine). To me Rao ranks ahead of a lot of other contemprary Indian writers. My respects to a great writer.
1. Lets make an attempt to publish his works in kannada laungage.
AFAIK, H. Y. Sharada Prasad has translated Swami and his Friends into Kannada(published by NBT) and I think there are some “unauthorised” translations of RK Narayan’s other works.
Yes! KP’s silence about Raja Rao is baffling !
can u provide an interesting piece on his life and everyday specialities of RKN
I agree. The silence is palpable. Hopefully, that will change soon. Unless, KP has no clue about Raja Rao ( unlikely).
I will not be surprised at all ..if churumuri doesnt show the same kind of interest in Raja Rao , a kannadiga .One of the trinity of great english authors apart from R.K.N and Mulkraj Anand.
A neighbour talks about RKN and his family in Mysore.
Memories of the Malgudi Man
http://www.hindu.com/mag/2006/07/09/stories/2006070900210500.htm
excellant read in Hindu .thanks for the link Nataraj