Malgudi Days (short story collection)

Malgudi Days

Author	R.K. Narayan
Illustrator	R.K. Laxman
Country	India
Language	English
Genre	Short story collections
Publisher	Indian Thought Publications
Publication date	1943
Media type	Print
Pages	150
ISBN	81-85986-17-7
OCLC	7813056
Preceded by	The Dark Room
Followed by	The English Teacher

Malgudi Days is a collection of short stories by R.K. Narayan published in 1943 by Indian Thought Publications.

The book was republished outside India in 1982 by Penguin Classics.^[1] The book includes 32 stories, all set in the fictional town of Malgudi,^[2] located in South India. Each of the stories portrays a facet of life in Malgudi.^[3] The New York Times described the virtue of the book as "everyone in the book seems to have a capacity for responding to the quality of his particular hour. It's an art we need to study and revive."^[4]

In 1986, a few of the stories in the book were included in the Malgudi Days television series and directed by actor and director, Shankar Nag.

In 2004, the project was revived with film-maker Kavitha Lankesh replacing the late Shankar Nag as director. The new series was telecast from April 26, 2006 on Doordarshan.^[5]

In 2014, Google commemorated Narayan's 108th birthday by featuring a Google Doodle showing him behind a copy of Malgudi Days.^[6]

Chapters

• "An Astrologer's Day": A short story about an astrologer who knows nothing about stars or astrology. He never wanted to be an astrologer but his poverty made him so.With more of matter of study,practise and shrewd guesswork he retorted such verdicts that it astonished and pleased people . One day he meets his rival whom he thought that he had killed long ago. With the help of his disguise of an astrologer he fooled^[7] his rival and has a hair-breath escape.
• "The Missing Mail": A story about Thannappa, a good hearted postman who shared a good relationship with all the people whom he used to handle them their letter especially with Ramanujam, a senior clerk in the Revenue Department Office .He doesn't deliver a letter to Ramanujam about the deadth of his uncle in order to prevent it from serving as an obstracle in the marriage ceremony of Ramanujam's daughter that was finnally going to be happening after many ups and downs.
• "The Doctor's Word": A story about Dr Raman, a doctor who believes good words can't save lives . He is very staunch about that. Suddenly his best friend falls terribly ill and the situation goes out of his hand . Now he is betwixt very badly.He finally tells good word's to save his friend's life even though he knew there was no ray of hope for his survival and at the end doctor's friend survives miraculously that still remains a great mystery even for the doctor himself.
• "Gateman's Gift": A story about Govind Singh who throughout his life served as a gatekeepper and security guard, after retiring indulged himself in the hobby of making miniature of sawdust and clay.
• "The Blind Dog": A story about a blind beggar who catches a dog to guide him through the streets.And even after torturing the dog so much the dog returns to him after running away.
• "Fellow Feeling": A story about Rajam Iyer, a Tamil Brahmin who is travelling in a train compartment.
• "The Tiger's Claw": A story about The Talkative Man, a recurring character in several short stories, and his fight with a tiger.
• "Iswaran": A story about a boy named "Iswaran" who failed his Intermediate Exams ten times, and when he passes it, in happiness, he gets drowned in the river Sarayu.
• "Such Perfection"
• "Father's Help"
• "The Snake Song": A story about a musician narrating his experience why he had stopped playing the harmonium
• "Engine Trouble"
• "Forty-Five A Month": A story about Daughter(Shanta) and her father(Venkat Rao), how the relationship between them and how he turned to realize that family feelings and joined together.
• "Out of Business"
• "Attila"
• "The Axe"
• "Lawley Road"
• "Trail of the Green Blazer"
• "The Martyr's Corner"
• "Wife's Holiday"
• "A Shadow"
• "A Willing Slave"
• "Leela's Friend"
• "Mother and Son"
• "Naga"
• "Selvi"
• "Second Opinion"
• "Cat Within"
• "The Edge"
• "God and the Cobbler"
• "Hungry Child"
• "Emden"

References

1. Beade, Pedro (September 1, 1985). "Ambiguities on parade In R.K.Narayan's stories, people can be animals and vice versa". Providence Journal. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
2. Magill, Frank (1987). Critical survey of short fiction. Salem Press. pp. 224–226. ISBN 978-0-89356-218-2. OCLC 16225069.
3. "Malgudi Days (review)". Retrieved 2010-06-21.
4. Broyard, Anatole (February 20, 1982). "Books of The Times – The Art of Teeming; Malgudi Days". NY Times. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
5. name="Malgudi Days article from a major Indian newspaper">"Malgudi Days on DD1". The Hindu. May 12, 2006. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
6. Flood, Alison (10 October 2014). "RK Narayan celebrated in a Google doodle – but only in India". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
7. Malgudi Days by R.K.Narayan