Short Stories | R. K. Narayan

 Hello everyone, 

    

The name, R. K. Narayan is revered by many in the realm of Indian English Literature, and especially in genre concerning short stories. Narayan had given many enticing short stories during his literary career. He is most famous for his 'Malgudi Days', which contains many stories including most famous Swami and Friends. This blog is also based on two of his short stories, which are rather obscure than other famous one, which are 'An Astrologer's Day' and 'Crime and Punishment'. In this blog you will find some question and answers related to these two short stories. 

R. K. Narayan

R.K. Narayan, full name Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayan Swami, was an Indian writer renowned for his novels set in the fictional South Indian town of Malgudi. Alongside Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao, he is considered one of the pioneering figures of early Indian literature in English, helping to introduce this genre to a global audience. His debut novel, "Swami and Friends," was published in 1935.

Narayan was mentored by the celebrated writer Graham Greene, who played a significant role in finding publishers for Narayan’s first four books. These included the semi-autobiographical trilogy of "Swami and Friends," "The Bachelor of Arts," and "The English Teacher." 

Narayan is also well-known for his works "The Financial Expert" (1951) and "The Guide," which won the Sahitya Akademi Award and was adapted into a successful Hindi film. He has often been compared to William Faulkner for his creation of a fictional town that reflected real-life, full of humor and the vibrancy of everyday life.

'An Astrologer's Day'

Q) How faithful is the movie to the original short story?

The short film we watched had captured the essence of what the story wants to convey, but while making such short documentary artists always takes some liberties in order to make it more enjoyable and interesting to watchers. Such case was with this short video as well. It has a few differences, which are listed below. 

• The short story had given a bit deep description of the astrologer and his belongings, whereas in my point of view the short film is lacking in description of astrologer and his things. 
• Secondly, in the short story there is a wife of astrologer but there is no mention of her name, but in the video she is referred as Usha. 
• Moreover, the same thing is for his child, in the film astrologer has daughter named 

Q) After watching the movie, have your perception about the short story, characters or situations changed?

No, my perception about the story has not really changed about any of things. Being a short story there is not much room for alteration, except for minute changes in plot or that in characters. And one thing I want to add is that if astrologer after such long passage of time recognize Guru Nayak, then why don't Gurunayak fails to acknowledge astrologer.

Q) Do you feel ‘aesthetic delight’ while watching the movie? If yes, exactly when did it happen? If no, can you explain with reasons?

Yes, towards the end of the short story we can feel aesthetic delight. It happens when the astrologer reveals his long secret to his wife. At that time we feel sudden change of emotion. First we felt that how this astrologer knows so much about Guru Nayak, and his past. There is element of surprise in it, but it is in the later part that we came to know about the history between him and Guru Nayak. In their youth they had quarreled and in aggression astrologer had attacked on Guru Nayak with knife. This moment of revelation is aesthetic delight for me.

Q) Does screening of movie help you in better understanding of the short story?

Well, it is a simple short story, hence easy to understand even in first read. So, I have understood this short story in one go. But it is always welcome to watch such kind of adaptation movies, which adds one more layer of deep understanding about any literary work. 

Q) Was there any particular scene or moment in the story that you think was perfect?

Yes, there is this conversation between Guru Nayak and astrologer which is in my point of view is perfect or near perfect, because it captures the very gist of the short story and this story gets it tense turn from that point only. So, the heated argument between the astrologer and Guru Nayak is perfectly presented in the movie. 

Q) If you are director, what changes would you like to make in the remaking of the movie based on the short story “An Astrologer’s Day” by R. K. Narayan?

If I would be the director of film, then I would like to stretch a story a little at the end. Like Guru Nayak at the end recognizes the astrologer as his enemy, and Guru Nayak plotting for a revenge. This way this the story could be turned into a revenge story. 

Here you can watch the short film,

Crime and Punishment

This short story by R.K. Narayan explores the relationship between students and teachers. Despite being written ahead of its time, the story remains more relevant than ever in contemporary times. In the story, we encounter a notorious student who does not want to study and takes advantage of his parents, who have raised him in a very liberal atmosphere. The first instance of this is right at the beginning of the story when the teacher asks the student the answer to sixteen multiplied by three, a simple question. The student deliberately gives the wrong answer. The enraged teacher slaps the boy, and in return, the student threatens to tell his parents about the incident. The boy takes advantage of the situation, indulging in play and even forcing his teacher to play with him. The teacher fears that if the boy tells his parents about the incident, he might lose a student from his tuition.

At the end of the story, the boy's parents come to the teacher's house while the boy is playing in the garden. When the parents ask for an explanation, the teacher makes up a story, saying that the boy had studied all the sums and is now free to play. Instead of telling the truth, he decides to remain passive. Initially, this story seems to be didactic, and it is to some extent, but it has an open ending. There are no explicit moral values given by the author; rather, it is up to the readers to interpret the story in their own ways.

Role of Parents 

In this story, the role of parents is crucial, as all the actions are driven by the liberties they give their child. His parents provide him with excessive and unnecessary freedom, which leads to reckless behavior. The boy appears to be a pampered child. Whenever his parents meet his teacher, they lecture the teacher about child psychology. If they had genuinely studied what they were discussing with the teacher, it would be a different story. It seems that the parents have failed to instill good manners and morals in their child.

Role of Teacher

After all the inappropriate actions the student had done, his teacher does nothing. Although the teacher did slap the boy, he regretted it afterward. The teacher feared the grave consequences that might unfold if the student told his parents about this incident of violence, which was a genuine concern in my opinion. Ideally, the teacher should have informed the parents about the boy's misbehavior, but he refrains from doing so. Looking deeper into the matter, we see that the teacher is also not entirely at fault. If he had reported the student's behavior, there was a strong chance the student might withdraw from tuition.

Nowadays, teachers are often underpaid, even when they are well-versed in their subjects and have all the necessary qualifications. Teachers struggle a lot to make ends meet. We can assume the same situation for this teacher. To protect himself from a financial crisis, he chooses not to tell the boy's parents about his mischievous deeds.

Movies that Explore Student & Teacher Relationship

The Karate Kid (2010)

The movie portrays dynamics of student and teacher relationship. Protagonist Dre Parker a 12 years old boy who is not able to learn karate properly for which he was bullied at the school. He then sought the help of Mr. Han, a karate master in disguise of commoner. One day Parker was beaten by a group of boys. Afterwards, Dre asks Mr. Han to teach him kung fu so he can defend himself and gain respect in his new school. Mr. Han agrees to teach Dre but uses unconventional methods. He starts Dre's training with repetitive tasks like hanging up and taking off his jacket, which is boring for Parker. Unlike the relationship presented in Narayan's short story,  this bond between teacher and student is more strong, and marked by mutual care and respect. 

Taare Zameen Par (2007)

This is one of the most popular Hindi movie about student and teacher relationship, and construct an ideal image of the teacher. It is a story about a boy named, Ishan Awasthi who is not able to learn things smoothly like other children do, and for this reason he was constantly criticized by his father. Eventually he was sent to boarding house. His teacher Ram found out that boy is suffering form dyslexia, which affects the learnings of Ishan. His teacher helps him to tackle the situation.  

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