This document provides an analysis of elements of Indianness portrayed in R.K. Narayan's novel "The Guide". It begins with background on the author, R.K. Narayan, and a 3 sentence summary of the novel. It then analyzes several key aspects of Indianness depicted in the novel, including the religious nature of Indian people, problems in Indian society, hospitality, cultural beliefs and customs, and family relationships. It also discusses Narayan's depiction of Malgudi as a representation of India. In conclusion, it asserts that Narayan realistically portrayed the transformation of the protagonist and religious, social and economic aspects of Indian society through this work.

2.  Name: Rajyaguru Dhvani Dipakbhai
 Paper Name: Indian English Literature- Pre
Independence
 Code: 201
 Subject: Indianness in R K Narayan’s “The Guide”
 Roll no: 04
 Email Id: dhvanirajayguru22@gmail.com
 Department: Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji
University, Bhavnagar.

3. Points to ponder:
 Introduction of author
 Summary of the novel
 Concept of Indianness in “The Guide”:
 Religious Nature of Indian People
 Problems of Indian Society
 Hospitality
 Beliefs, Values And Customs Of Indians
 Family Relationship
 Narrow-political Motive
 Malgudi, Narayan’s India
 Conclusion

4. Who is R K Narayan:
 Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswamy was born on the 10th of October 1907 in Chennai,
Madras in a Brahmin family. He was nicknamed as Kunjappa at home.
 Narayan was left behind to the care of his grandmother, Ammani, by his parents. As all Indian
grandmothers, Narayan's grandmother was also a good narrator of bedtime stories.
 Her influence made him to learn the art of story.This early education of Indian classical myths and
tradition helped him to store everything in his mind and later helped him to add meaning to his life
and work.
 R. K. Narayan started writing from his childhood. He observed the life of the people around with
utter care. Later, he made use of those characters in his novels. Thus, his characters have an Indian
flavor and they are often drawn from middle class and lower middle class society. He framed
characters with an Indian artistic approach for over sixty years in Indian Writing in English.
 In all his Pre - Independence novels family is the matrix. Most of them were auto biographical.
Swami and His Friends (1935) was his first novel which Narayan published because of there
commendation of Graham Greene. Narayan has written about ten novels and hundred and fifty one
short stories.
 He chooses his characters from the middle class of South India. Like, other Regional Novelists,
the locale of Narayan's novels is Malgudi and its surroundings.
 According to Margaret Parton:
 “If one wants to appreciate the delicate humanity and culture of India, one should read Narayan's
novels.”

5. Summary of “The Guide”:
 The Guide (1958) has won Narayan the Sahithya Academy Award. He heard about an
incident in which some Brahmins prayed to God for rain in knee-deep water for twelve
days and then it rained.
 Raju, the protagonist of The Guide belongs to a lower-middle class family. Their house is
opposite to the Malgudi railway station.
 He starts his career with the profession of a tourist guide, Raju later plays the roles of a
lover criminal and finally a fake swami.
 To avoid the shameful situation of facing his people, he prefers the role of swami to
returning home after his release from imprisonment.
 This sainthood comes into his favor only for the time being. But when the situation forces
him to observe fasting for bringing rain for the draught-stricken people, he faces a
plight.The novel ends with no indication about Raju’s death or survival.

6. Religious Nature of Indian People:
 According to William Walsh (1979):
“The religious sense of Indian myth is a part of Narayan’s grip of reality of his
particular view of human life and his individual way of placing and ordering human feeling
and experience. What one can say about Narayan without qualification is that he embodies
the pure spirit of Hinduism.” (Kailas Karnewar- ignited.in)
 Indian people are truly religious people. R.K. Narayan beautifully exposes their
religious nature. First Rosie, a heroin of this novel, belonging to family traditionally
dedicated to temples as dancer her mother, grandmother and before her, her mother
even as a young girl she danced in her village as “Devdasis”, which is also a religious
ritual in India.

7.  The blind faith of Indian society on Sadhus and religious men is depicted in their
acceptance of Raju as a swami however, by becoming a sadhu and accepting traditional
belief in sacrifice, self-discipline and purification, he brings harmony and order to his
spiritual life.
 After being released from jail, instead of going to his village (Malgudi), he preferred
to stay in the temple near the river Sarayu near Mangala village. The religious people of
Mangala village believe in him gradually considering him as a great sadhu. He decides
to fast for 11 days in order to please the god of the village, not to let them down.
 At the end he made sacrifice to save the life of villagers. Fasting, superstation about
rain, blind faith on god and on Sadhu, moksha all this religious aspect and religious
nature of Indian people is charmingly described by R. K. Narayan.
 V. S. Naipaul aptly says that "Narayan's novels are ... religious books ... and intensely
Hindu. (Kailas Karnewar- ignited.in)

8. Problems of Indian Society:
 India is a totally dependent on agriculture. In novel “The Guide” R. K. Narayan
describes the problem of country. Dependent on agriculture, agriculture depends on
monsoon. If monsoon is not sufficient then this worsen the condition of agriculture
leading to the unavoidable famine, deficiency of water, vanishing cattle, hording by
traders unrests, penance, pujas and sacrifices to please the god of rain.
 Raju’s mother wanted that Raju should marry her brother’s daughter in a traditional
manner. Raju’s father wanted that Raju should run his shop near railway station. Rosie
once again wanted to do carrier in dancing but her husband refuse to do so.
 This indicates that Indian people are quite sticking to their old beliefs they don’t accept
the new beliefs very early compare to other people.

9. Hospitality:
 The people of this region have a praiseworthy tradition of giving respect to the
guest. They are extremely hospitable and in The Guide, we can see that Raju
and his mother take care of every comfort of Rosie.
 His mother does not raise any question at first. Later on she becomes
dissatisfied with Rosie and leaves home bag and baggage as Rosie continues
living in her house.
 In the same way, Velan and other villagers of Mangala arrange the meals for
the swami, not asking any question though they themselves suffer from
drought.

10. Beliefs, Values And Customs Of Indians:
 India with her age-old religious beliefs, values and customs is picturesque in
The Guide.
 Indians’ belief that violation of traditional beliefs, values and customs leads to
disorder and conformity to these leads to order is brilliantly illustrated in
Raju’s rise from tourist guide to swami and to a martyr.
 Raju has to receive punishment for deviating from tradition, for developing an
illicit affair with Rosie, for not showing respect for his mother and for deceit
and crime.
 But later, Raju conforms to tradition, accepts the faith of the villagers and gains
spiritual maturity, the chaos in his life is replaced by order, happiness and
salvation of soul.

11. Family Relationship:
 Rosie is the daughter of a dancer and therefore belongs to a lower caste. She did not marry Marco
out of love but because of his social status. Though she likes dancing, she sets it apart when
wedded to Marco because he does not like. Their marriage is not very satisfying and Rosie begins
to have an affair with Raju.
 When Marco finds out, he leaves her behind and went to Madras.When Rosie entered in the life of
Raju the family life of Raju get disturbed. She finds it impossible for herself to put up with the
immoral living of her son with a tainted woman. The mother’s attitude on husband wife
relationship is systematically straight. She asks Rosie to return to her husband and fall at her feet.
 Beside all these fact R. K. Narayan also depicted in “The Guide” that the love, physical relation,
money are important part of human life. These are the driving forces of society. The greed for,
money, love, sex corrupts every human being that is why Raju was in jail for two years and Marco
left Rosie alone.

12. Narrow-political Motive
 The narrow political motive of the sub-continental rulers is clear in the government’s
special arrangement for the fasting swami and his devotees.
 In fact the main aim of the political rulers of this region is to accomplish the works
which serve their political interests rather than the real welfare of the common people
and thus they succeed to show their false patriotism and sympathy for the common
people.
 In The Guide, The government deputes doctors for the fasting swami though they do
nothing for the drought-stricken villagers. Getting media coverage and cheap popularity
is a dominant factor in the sub-continental political strategy.
 The news of their feeling sympathy for the people and making promises draws the
attention of the media and thus comes into common people’s notice and this fact helps
them to achieve political purpose.

13. Malgudi, Narayan’s India
 Narayan’s India is symbolized by Malgudi, an imaginary locale in his novels.
 According to William Walsh (Author of Indian Literature in English):
Malgudi is a “a blend of oriental and pre-1914 British, like an Edwardian mixture
of sweet mangoes and malt vinegar; a wedding with its horoscopes and gold-edged,
elegantly printed invitation cards; tiny shops with the shopkeeper hunched on the counter
selling plantains, betel leaves, snuff and English biscuits; the casuarinas and the Post Office
Savings Bank; the brass pots and the volumes of Milton and Carlyle; the shaved head and
ochre robes of the sanyasi and Messrs Binns’ catalogue of cricket bats”. (Dr. Ch Anuradha)

14. Conclusion:
 R.K. Narayan’s The Guide is a fine example of realistic portrays of Indian
scenario.
 R. K. Narayan portrays the journey of different phases of Raju’s life like
Station food vendor, a tourist guide, a sentimental adultery, a manager of
Rosie, a jailbird, martyred swami while portraying transformation of Raju from
Railway raju to spiritual awaken Raju Narayan put forward different religious,
cultural, social, economic aspects of Indian society.
 He also focuses on deteriorating family relation, religious nature of Indian
society, and different problems of Indian society like drought ,blind faith on
sadhu, superstitious nature of Indian people.

15. References:
 Ch, Dr Anuradha. “Indian Elements in R.K.Narayan's The Guide.” Journal of English
Language and Literature, vol. 6, no. 4, 2019, pp. 102–107.
 Fernandez, Sonyalee. “The Concept of Indianness in R.K. Narayan's The Guide.” The
Dawn Journal, vol. 4, July 2015, pp. 1171–1175.
 Karnewar, Kailas Vijayrao. “R. K. Narayan’s The Guide- Realistic Portrayal of Indian
Society.” Journal of Advances and Scholarly Researches in Allied Education , vol. 16,
no. 5, Apr. 2019, pp. 225–227.