NARAYAN, R(ASIPURAM) K(RISHNASWAMI)

born Oct. 10, 1906, Madras original name Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayanswami one of the finest Indian authors of his generation writing in English. Reared by his grandmother, Narayan completed his education in 1930 and briefly worked as a teacher before deciding to devote full time to writing. His first novel, Swami and Friends (1935), is an episodic narrative recounting the adventures of a group of schoolboys. That book and all of Narayan's later works are set in the fictitious South Indian town of Malgudi. Narayan typically portrays the peculiarities of human relationships and the ironies of Indian daily life, in which modern urban existence clashes with ancient tradition. His style is graceful, marked by genial humour, elegance, and simplicity. Among his best-received novels are The English Teacher (1945), Waiting for the Mahatma (1955), The Guide (1958), The Man-Eater of Malgudi (1961), The Vendor of Sweets (1967), and A Tiger for Malgudi (1983). Narayan has also written a number of short stories; collections include Lawley Road (1956), A Horse and Two Goats and Other Stories (1970), and Under the Banyan Tree and Other Stories (1985). In addition to works of nonfiction (chiefly memoirs), he also published shortened modern prose versions of two Indian epics, The Ramayana (1972) and The Mahabharata (1978).