Subaltern Voices in the Novels of R K Narayan

Abstract

Indians have to wait for the novel, to be called properly, until the Western impact newlineon Indians and their culture, first as a functional, in the development of formal written newlineprose, and then as an artistic medium. However, the real commitment of the novel was newlinestarted with the works of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee whose first effort -- Rajmohan s newlineLife (1864) -- was in English. In India, novel as a genre was already established during newlinethird decade of the 20thcentury. Novel was immediately confronted by complicated newlineproblems: to reproduce life objectively to portray reality in the context of certain newlinehistorical period, and reveal the psychology of human nature. A solution to these newlineproblems lay on the shoulders of eminent novelists like R.K. Narayan, Mulk RajAnand, newlineRaja Rao and others and their contribution was highly appreciated by critics and readers. newlineR.K. Narayan has been regarded as the best Indian writer in the English language. newlineThe adjective Indian needs to be understood on several levels. He is neither Anglo- newlineIndian nor Indo-Anglian; he is very much an Indian both in spirit and thought. He dealt newlinewith great themes but with great simplicity; he carried his home, his cosmos, on his back, newlineas did the ageless Swamis of India. newlineSometimes some moments come in the life of a man which changes his entire newlinelife. Narayan also witnessed the same kind of moment in his life. The year 1930 newlinewitnessed the breakthrough creative event in Narayan s life. He visualized a small newlinerailway station. Suddenly its name seemed to hurl view and Malgudi was born. Quite newlineliterally, the Malgudi railway station put Narayan and, in a sense, Indian fiction in newlineEnglish on the right track of writing. Narayan always saw the birth of Malgudi as the newlinepivotal moment of his writing life. newlineR.K. Narayan, the prolific writer, wrote fourteen novels, a number of short newlinestories and articles. His novels can be studied in three parts. The early novels of Narayan newlineare a sociological study of people s manners and mentality in pre-independence days. newlineSwami and Friends, The