A Tiger for Malgudi

Last updated
A Tiger for Malgudi
ATigerForMalgudi.jpg
First US edition
Author R. K. Narayan
Country India
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Viking Press (US)
Heinemann (UK)
Publication date
1983
Media typePrint
Pages175
ISBN 0-670-71260-4

A Tiger for Malgudi is a 1983 novel by R. K. Narayan told by a tiger in the first person. Deeply moving is the attachment of the tiger to the monk and the monk's care for the tiger. R. K. Narayan consulted with noted tiger expert K. Ullas Karanth on the writing of this novel. Narayan used the teaching of Buddha's enlightenment in this particular novel. The novel is set in the fictional town of Malgudi.

Contents

Plot

The tiger recounts his story of capture by a circus owner, but he never tried to escape. He lived freely in the wild jungles of India in his youth. He mates and has a litter with a tigress, and raises a litter until one day he finds that hunters have captured and killed his entire family. He exacts revenge by attacking and eating the cattle and livestock of nearby villages, but is captured by poachers. He is sent to a circus in Malgudi, where a harsh animal trainer known only as "the Captain" starves him and forces him to do tricks in the circus. He lives in captivity successfully for some time, but eventually his wild instincts overcome him and he mauls and kills the Captain. After an extended rampage though town, he is recaptured, but this time voluntarily by a monk/renunciant with whom he befriends and finds peace on the hills. The monk, called the Master, later realizing his own days are coming to an end, donates the elderly tiger to the local zoo, where he is cared for, admired by onlookers, and passes his days. He is looked at by many children and realizes that he is done something to make humans happy.

Characters

Background

In his introduction to the novel, Narayan mentions that the idea of the novel occurred to him when he once read about a monk moving around with a pet tiger during the Kumbh Mela festival in Allahabad. He was also inspired by reports of lasting friendships between tigers and human beings which became a major theme of the novel. However, what decided for him to begin writing the novel was a bookmark he saw with the picture of a tiger that said, “I’d love to get into a good book”. [1] [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. K. Narayan</span> Indian writer (1906-2001)

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami, better known as R. K. Narayan, was an Indian writer and novelist known for his work set in the fictional South Indian town of Malgudi. He was a leading author of early Indian literature in English along with Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao.

Malgudi is a fictional town located in Agumbe situated in the Shivamogga district of the Indian state of Karnataka in the novels and short stories of R. K. Narayan. It forms the setting for most of Narayan's works. Starting with his first novel, Swami and Friends, all but one of his fifteen novels and most of his short stories take place here. Malgudi was a portmanteau of two Bengaluru localities - Malleshwara and Basavanagudi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pico Iyer</span> British essayist and novelist

Siddharth Pico Raghavan Iyer, known as Pico Iyer, is a British-born essayist and novelist known chiefly for his [writing on explorations both inner and outer ]. He is the author of numerous books on crossing cultures including Video Night in Kathmandu, The Lady and the Monk and The Global Soul. He has been a constant contributor to Time,Harper's, The New York Review of Books, and The New York Times, among a huge selection of other periodicals

<i>Swami and Friends</i> Novel by Indian author R. K. Narayan

Swami and Friends is the first of a series of novels written by R. K. Narayan (1906–2001), English language novelist from India. The novel, the first book Narayan wrote, is set in British India in a town called Malgudi. The second and third books in the trilogy are The Bachelor of Arts and The English Teacher.

<i>The English Teacher</i> 1945 novel by R. K. Narayan

The English Teacher is a 1945 novel written by R. K. Narayan. It is a part of a series of novels and collections of short stories set in "Malgudi". The English Teacher was preceded by Swami and Friends (1935), The Bachelor of Arts (1937) and Malgudi Days, (1943) and followed by Mr. Sampath – The Printer of Malgudi.

<i>The Bachelor of Arts</i> Novel

The Bachelor of Arts (1937) is a novel written by R. K. Narayan. It is the second book of a trilogy that begins with Swami and Friends and ends with The English Teacher. It is again set in Malgudi, the fictional town Narayan invented for his novels.

<i>The Guide</i> 1958 novel by R. K. Narayan

The Guide is a 1958 novel written in English by the Indian author R. K. Narayan. Like most of his works, the events of this novel take place in Malgudi, a fictional town in South India. The novel describes the transformation of the protagonist, Raju, from a tour guide to a spiritual guide and then one of the greatest holy men of India.

<i>The Vendor of Sweets</i> 1967 novel by R. K. Narayan

The Vendor of Sweets (1967), by R. K. Narayan, is the biography of a fictional character named Sri K. V. Jagan who is a sweet vendor of Malgudi. The story beautifully reflects his conflict with his estranged son and how he finally leaves for renunciation, overwhelmed by the sheer pressure and monotony of his life.

<i>Waiting for the Mahatma</i>

Waiting for the Mahatma is a 1955 novel by R. K. Narayan.

Indian English literature (IEL), also referred to as Indian Writing in English (IWE), is the body of work by writers in India who write in the English language but whose native or co-native language could be one of the numerous languages of India. Its early history began with the works of Henry Louis Vivian Derozio and Michael Madhusudan Dutt followed by Rabindranath Tagore and Sri Aurobindo. R. K. Narayan, Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao contributed to the growth and popularity of Indian English fiction in the 1930s. It is also associated, in some cases, with the works of members of the Indian diaspora who subsequently compose works in English.

<i>The Man-Eater of Malgudi</i> 1961 novel by R.K. Narayan

The Man-Eater of Malgudi is a 1961 Indian novel, written by R. K. Narayan. In this novel R.K. Narayan uses the historical reference of Bhasmasura.

<i>Mr. Sampath – The Printer of Malgudi</i> Novel by R. K. Narayan

Mr. Sampath – The Printer of Malgudi is a 1949 novel by R. K. Narayan. It was adapted into the films Mr. Sampat and a Tamil film sharing the same title (1972).

<i>The Financial Expert</i> Novel by R.K. Narayan

The Financial Expert is a 1952 novel by R. K. Narayan. It takes place, as do many other novels and short stories by this author, in the town of Malgudi. The central character in this book is the financial expert Margayya, who offers advice to his fellow townspeople from under his position at the banyan tree. He is a man of many aspirations and this novel delves into some level of psychological analysis. The Financial Expert tells the story of the rise and fall of Margayya.

<i>Talkative Man</i>

Talkative Man is a novel by R. K. Narayan first published in 1986 by Heinemann. Like his earlier novels, this one is also set in the fictional town of Malgudi. The novel is a bit short by Narayan's standards but provides the same level of enjoyment one experiences with his other writings.

Indian Thought Publications is a publisher founded in 1942, in Mysore by R. K. Narayan. Narayan founded the company as he was cut off from England owing to the war and needed an outlet for his works. The first book to be published by the company was Malgudi Days, in 1943. The publishing company followed a short-lived journal that he founded, of the same name. The company is currently managed from a tiny home-office in Chennai by Narayan's granddaughter Bhuvaneswari (Minnie).

<i>Malgudi Days</i> (short story collection) 1943 collection of short stories by R. K. Narayan

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

<i>Miss Malini</i> 1947 film by Kothamangalam Subbu

Miss Malini is a 1947 Indian Tamil-language satirical film written and directed by Kothamangalam Subbu and produced by K. Ramnoth, based on a story by R. K. Narayan. Subbu also starred in the film alongside Pushpavalli and M. S. Sundari Bai. Javar Seetharaman and Gemini Ganesan made their acting debuts in the film appearing in minor supporting roles. The film focuses on Malini (Pushpavalli), an impoverished woman who joins her actress friend Sundari's theatre company Kala Mandhiram and becomes a success. Things take a turn for the worse when she befriends a charlatan named Sampath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fateh Singh Rathore</span> Tiger Guru

Fateh Singh Rathore was an Indian tiger conservationist. Fateh Singh joined the Indian Forest Service in 1960 and was part of the first Project Tiger team. He was widely acknowledged as the tiger guru for his legendary knowledge of the big cat. He worked over 50 years in wildlife conservation. Rathore was noted for his pioneering relocation of villages from inside the Ranthambhore National Park in 1973–75. Largely because of Mr. Rathore, "Ranthambhore became the place which brought the tiger to the consciousness of people the world over."

<i>Hoity Toity</i> (novel) 1929 novel by Alexander Belyayev

Hoity Toity is a 1929 Soviet science fiction novella written by Alexander Belyayev. The novel, part of the Professor Wagner's Inventions series, was first published in Vsemirny Sledopyt magazine between January and February 1930. It was later included in the 1961 science fiction anthology known as A Visitor from Outer Space.

Banker Margayya is 1983 Indian Kannada-language film directed by T. S. Nagabharana, based on the novel The Financial Expert by R. K. Narayan, and starring Lokesh in the lead role.

References

  1. Ramteke, S. R. (1998). R.K. Narayan and His Social Perspective. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 89. ISBN   978-81-7156-748-5.
  2. K, Narayan R. (1995). A Tiger for Malgudi. Allied Publishers. p. 7. ISBN   978-81-7023-401-2.