R.K.Narayan’s work is best described by the word ’empathy’. Narayan’s storylines have reflected the state of society in his day and age, and people who have lived in those times will easily relate to and empathise with the characters of his story. Even in today’s changed milieu, some parts of the plot still touch a chord. A lot of situations are allegorical and you are unconsciously taken off-track on your own journeys in memory, as u think of similar things that happened in your life.
The Man eater of Malgudi is one such story, where one is partly amused and partly sympathetic towards the hapless publisher who is overwhelmed by Vasu’s presence and does things that he doesnt really want to do. Initially, he is overawed by Vasu’s personality and partly out of admiration, allows him into his life and his property. Gradually, the reality of the situation hits him and he realizes that he is not really ’’allowing’’ Vasu to do things, rather Vasu is doing what he wants to do. By then, it is too late as Vasu is well and truly ensconsed in his life. He makes a few feeble and unsuccessful attempts to rid himself of Vasu, and is finally at his wit’s end. Eventually, his problem gets solved in a unique denouement.
I have been reading Narayan since the age of 10, and the fodder of these formative years has made me a die-hard fan. This might serve as a disclaimer to my review !
Narayan’s books are not about a meteorite striking the earth and wiping out life, or making wonderful journeys in a spaceship to the ends of the universe. They are about simple human emotions, and the (mis)adventures of the protagonists are the stuff that any Indian middle-class family would have seen in their own circles. This makes it all the more endearing and enduring in people’s hearts.