A Tiger for Malgudi (21 page)

 
A widower of firm Gandhian principles, Jagan none the less harbours a warmly embarrassed affection for his wastrel son Mali. But even Jagan’s patience begins to fray when Mali descends on the sleepy city of Malgudi full of modern notions, with a new half-American wife and a grand plan for selling novel-writing machines ...

 
The Painter of Signs

R. K. Narayan’s magical creation, the city of Malgudi, provides the setting for this wryly funny, bittersweet story of love getting in the way of progress.

 
Under the Banyan Tree

An enchanting new collection from India’s foremost storyteller, rich in wry, warmly observed characters from every walk of Indian life, merchants, beggars, herdsmen, rogues, all of whose lives are a microcosm of the human experience.

 
Bizarre happenings at Malgudi are heralded by the arrival of a stranger on the Delhi train who takes up residence in the station waiting-room and, to the dismay of the station master, will not leave ... ‘Compulsive and enthralling quality of narrative’ -
Sunday Times.
‘His lean, matter-of-fact prose has lost none of its chuckling sparkle mixed with melancholy’ -
Spectator

 
The Guide

 
Raju’s first stop after his release from prison is the barber’s shop. Then he decides to take refuge in an abandoned temple. Raju used to be India’s most corrupt tourist guide - but now a peasant mistakes him for a holy man. Gradually, almost grudgingly, he begins to play the part. He succeeds so well that God himself intervenes to put Raju’s new holiness to the test.

 
also published:
My Days: A Memoir
 
and, translated by R. K. Narayan:
The Ramayana
A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic