ABHIJITH V MOHANAN - 5037

Malgudi​ ​days Malgudi​ ​Days​ ​is​ ​a​ ​collection​ ​of​ ​32​ ​short​ ​stories​ ​taken​ ​from​ ​two​ ​collections​ ​of​ ​his​ ​“An​ ​Astrologer’s Days”​ ​(16​ ​stories),​ ​“Lawley​ ​Road”​ ​(8​ ​stories)​ ​and​ ​eight​ ​new​ ​stories.​ ​Though​ ​they​ ​are unrelatedand​ ​independent​ ​short​ ​stories,​ ​they​ ​are​ ​blended​ ​together​ ​through​ ​Malgudi. The​ ​characters​ ​in​ ​the​ ​stories​ ​are​ ​simple​ ​city​ ​folk​ ​whom​ ​you​ ​come​ ​across​ ​everyday​ ​in​ ​real​ ​life. There​ ​are​ ​no​ ​super​ ​heroes​ ​or​ ​villains.​ ​No​ ​kings​ ​and​ ​king​ ​makers.​ ​No​ ​beautiful​ ​damsels​ ​in distress.​ ​Yet,​ ​the​ ​characters​ ​are​ ​very​ ​live​ ​and​ ​make​ ​the​ ​reader​ ​aware​ ​of​ ​their​ ​presence.​ ​Who would​ ​think​ ​of​ ​writing​ ​about​ ​“….one​ ​of​ ​those​ ​commonplace​ ​dogs​ ​one​ ​sees​ ​everywhere​ ​–​ ​colour of​ ​white​ ​and​ ​dust,​ ​tail​ ​mutilated​ ​at​ ​a​ ​young​ ​age…..bred​ ​on​ ​leavings​ ​and​ ​garbage​ ​of​ ​the marketplace….”​ ​or​ ​about​ ​Kannan​ ​who​ ​“…​ ​sat​ ​at​ ​the​ ​door​ ​of​ ​his​ ​hut​ ​and​ ​watched​ ​the​ ​village​ ​go its​ ​way.​ ​Sami​ ​the​ ​oil-monger…​ ​coming​ ​up​ ​the​ ​street​ ​driving​ ​his​ ​ox​ ​before​ ​him…..”​ ​This​ ​is​ ​RK Narayan​ ​for​ ​you.​ ​Simple​ ​stories​ ​about​ ​simple​ ​folk.​ ​It​ ​shows​ ​how​ ​closely​ ​he​ ​has​ ​observed​ ​life.​ ​He has​ ​not​ ​missed​ ​anything.​ ​Nothing​ ​is​ ​too​ ​small​ ​or​ ​too​ ​insignificant​ ​for​ ​him​ ​to​ ​write​ ​about.​ ​He breathes​ ​life​ ​into​ ​all​ ​the​ ​characters​ ​he​ ​handles​ ​making​ ​them​ ​living​ ​entities. His​ ​stories​ ​are​ ​simple​ ​and​ ​short​ ​where​ ​the​ ​central​ ​character​ ​faces​ ​some​ ​kind​ ​of​ ​crisis​ ​in​ ​life​ ​and either​ ​resolves​ ​it​ ​or​ ​lives​ ​with​ ​it.​ ​He​ ​meant​ ​his​ ​stories​ ​to​ ​be​ ​“…..​ ​in​ ​tune​ ​completely​ ​with​ ​the​ ​truth of​ ​life,​ ​truth​ ​as​ ​I​ ​perceive​ ​it….”​ ​The​ ​reader​ ​may​ ​read​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​into​ ​the​ ​stories​ ​depending​ ​on​ ​his experiences​ ​in​ ​life.