The English Teacher by R.K.

Narayan

Narayan's Best

English teacher Krishna has recently married, but his wife and daughter
live miles away. The story begins with his immediate family deciding to join
him. Krishna is initially frightened by this, but soon finds that his love for
both his wife and child grows deeper than he could have imagined.

Personal Review: The English Teacher by R.K. Narayan

Through his unobtrusive insights, Narayan paints a beautiful picture of a
small fictional South Indian town - Malgudi (which is in reality, a mixture of
images derived from his hometown in the Kumbakonam District of
Tamilnadu and Mysore in Karnataka. Narayan's description of the life of
South Indians- their simple houses, grandmothers, earnest young men,
garrulous retired men, street dogs, cricket playing youngsters- all make for
a compelling picture, funny and poignant simultaneously. I cannot recollect
the number of times I have read this book - The old Indian TV serial
"Malgudi Days" immortalized Narayan's imagination on Indian television.
Of course, Malgudi days dealt primarily with Narayan's celebrated "Swami
and his friends", but the small town also serves as the backdrop for this
semi-autobiographic novel of Narayan. The English teacher- Krishnan
leads a blissful life with his wife and daughter. Life takes a cruel turn when
his wife dies of typhoid. The rest of the book deals with Krishnan's
struggle, seances through which he communicates with his wife's soul and
finally- the magnificent ending of the book, when the author finally realizes
the true meaning of life and he experiences "a moment of pure immutable
joy; a moment for which one feels grateful to life and death" The book is
based on Narayan's real life; In his own words, very little of the book is
fiction...There are loving references to Susheela- her height (in reality,
Narayan's wife was taller than him!), the description of her midnight-blue
silk saree, the fragrance of jasmine that enveloped everything associated
with her....One can only begin to sense the magnitude of Narayan's loss.
Through this book, Narayan has accorded the Indian way of life and his
love the greatest possible respect and honor.

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