I would like to start this review by elucidating a little upon my reading habit. Yours truly is a lethargic person, who when asked to rate his laziness by a friend was too lazy to pick a number between 1 and 5. There is also another person inside me, who is a very spirited chap who once worked 24 hours without sleeping to organize a college inter collegiate meet. With these two contrasting personalities, I am either too free or over occupied. This makes me harder to develop a habit for reading as well as a desire for writing. As far as reading English is concerned, I would read comics with great pace, short stories very rarely, and novels if on travel or terribly bored. I do read novels, but insist upon one condition that the story should be unraveling of mystery. Therefore my voyages in English literature have not crossed a centimeter after The Famous Five, Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. And I am one of the most ardent admirers of the world’s greatest detective Sherlock Holmes and his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I still remember my friend wasting more than a day in convincing me to read James Hadley Chase. If at all, I read a novel that is not categorized mystery, it is no mystery. It should have the name
R.K.NARAYAN I don’t think there is any parallel to R.K.Narayan in Indian English literature and I don’t bother to verify either. I have the supreme regards to this admirable author to whom I attribute my interest towards the language and to whom I would dedicate my little literary efforts. Whenever I enter into his world of Malgudi, the town of scenic locales and lovely characters, I am guaranteed a unique and unrivaled experience. It is something like homecoming and is my only advice to any reader is to read at least one R.K novel in his/her lifetime. “Mr.Sampath, The Printer of Malgudi” keeping with R.Ks novels has a very simple storyline. And as ever, R.K elevates the novel with his captivating characterization and scintillating story telling, not to forget his deft diction. There are a few business relations that demand two persons to work very closely that it may easily turn into an intimate bonding of hearts. A doctor and nurse, director and actor, opening batsmen in a cricket team, and so is that between an editor and a printer. To bring out the journal of Malgudi “The Banner”, Mr.Shrinivas, The Editor and Mr. Sampath, the Printer have to work together. The two entirely contrasting good hearted characters forge a great partnership that makes “The Banner” the cynosure of all eyes in Malgudi. However a situation arises that they have to temporarily discontinue the journal. Not two persons to lay idle, both of them join hands with a film making company where they have to trace varying paths, with their special bond still very deep. A love affair with the heroime of the movie makes life difficult for the daring and over ambitious Sampath, while the ethnic and ethical Shrinivas has his problems of over responsibility too. Some sour incidents in the studio force Shrinivas to quit the studio and revive his banner with another printer, a thing that dosent seem to bother Sampath caught entirely in the charm of the heroine. But Sampath comes back after the loss of the lady, loss of his family, loss of his wealth, loss of fame and loss of peace. The story ends in a gripping manner when he confides with his good old friend Shrinivas. And as you expect from R.K novel, you are only let out with a very heavy heart.
The story may seem very smooth, yet the narration makes it full of unpredictable curves. The sudden death of the landlord would leave you as shocked as the inmates of the story, the sudden halt of truth Printing Works would catch you entirely by surprise. You would never imagine the climax to happen at that point of time. But the highlight of the novel is that even before you react to the situation, you are caught in the next frame. Once again, R.K shows the scantest of disregards in glorifying tragic happenings. The narration has been very unconventional by R.K. He seldom speaks about the hero Mr.Sampath in the first twenty pages. Except for one chapter where Mr.Sampath is introduced, there is no chapter exclusively to describe the hero. Another novel thing was the placing of the introduction scene of Mr.Sampath some time after the reader is set with the character. Nevertheless the introduction of Mr.Sampath is the most exciting chapter in the whole book. One more notable aspect in the narration is the usage of two story tellers in tandem, Mr.Shrinivas and the author himself. When the author takes us through the story, the course is predominantly humorous, while Mr.Shrinivas gives the proceedings a reflective and emotional flow. All the narration strategies have successfully made the required impact amongst the readers. Characterization has always been R.K’s forte, and yet again he comes up trumps in the area. The characters are all typical Indian characters, yet the way he etches out these characters is his unique talent. As I mentioned earlier, there is no chapter entirely devoted to the hero, but the impression of the character is so strong that you never miss our hero. On the other hand, the character of Mr.Shrinivas is maintained so conventional and predictable that the character has to impregnate into the proceedings. We get the characters easily into our thoughts and the author rides the story by making us predict the outcome in given circumstances. That’s R.K for you. Be it the old landlord, Be it Shrinivas’s brother Be it Ravi’s father, Be it Shrinivas’s wife or Sampath’s children, all the characters linger in your minds long after you read the novel despite the fact that they come a mere page or two.
Two things fascinated me in this novel, things that always fascinated me from R.K. You understand that the novel takes place in the local area with the local people. You understand that the mother tongue of these people is not English. Yet the dialogues are so natural and characteristic of the people. Even the translated version in Tamil would not have expressed the happenings as this one. Salutations to R.K and his great diction!You also comprehend that the time of the events is somewhere in the past, but the whole story would be fresh and appealing. That is a testimony that the outstanding R.K is never outdated. Salaam to the Master Again! Mr.Sampath would definitely delight R.K fans and should bear the R.K. punch upon a newcomer to Malgudi. It was another valuable vacation in Malgudi for me. All in all, A MASTER PRINT FROM THE MASTER