The Guide

Last updated

The Guide
TheGuide.jpg
First US edition
Author R. K. Narayan
Country India
Language English
Genre Philosophical novel
Publisher
Publication date
1958
Media typePrint (hardcover & paperback)
Pages220 pp
ISBN 0-670-35668-9 (first American edition)
OCLC 65644730

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.

Contents

This novel earned Narayan the first 1960 Sahitya Akademi Award for English, by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters. [1] In 2022, it was included on the "Big Jubilee Read" list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors selected to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II. [2]

Plot summary

The protagonist, Raju, who is nicknamed "Railway Raju", is characterized as being a corrupt and popular tour guide. In the story, he falls in love with a beautiful woman named Rosie, who is married to an archaeologist named Marco, while the couple is visiting Malgudi as tourists. Marco disapproves of Rosie's passion for dancing but Raju encourages Rosie to pursue her dreams and become a dancer. With this interaction, they begin to spend time with each other and become very close.

Upon learning about their relationship, Marco leaves Rosie in Malgudi and returns to Madras alone. Rosie seeks refuge at Raju's home, and they start living together. However, Raju's mother does not approve of their relationship and leaves them.

Raju becomes Rosie's stage manager, and with his marketing tactics, Rosie gains recognition as a dancer. With his success, Raju becomes overly confident and begins to assert more control over Rosie's life for financial gain. He becomes involved in a forgery case related to Rosie's signature. Raju is sentenced to two years in prison, despite Rosie's defence.

After completing his sentence, Raju passes through a village called Mangal, where he is mistaken for a sadhu (a spiritual guide). To avoid returning to Malgudi in disgrace, he decides to stay in an abandoned temple near Mangal. There, he takes on the role of a sadhu, delivering sermons and solving the villagers' daily problems and disputes.

During a famine in the village, some of the villagers request help from Raju, believing that rain will come and end the famine if he fasts. Raju decides to confess his entire past to Velan, who had initially discovered him in the temple and had unwavering faith in him like the rest of the villagers. However, Velan remains unchanged by the confession, and Raju resolves to continue with the fast.

As news of Raju's fast spreads through the media, a large crowd gathers to witness the spectacle, much to Raju's annoyance. On the morning of the eleventh day of his fast, he goes to the riverside as part of his daily ritual. He senses rain falling in the distant hills and collapses into the water. Whether it actually rained or if Raju died remains unknown and open to the reader's interpretation.

Adaptations

The film Guide was released in 1965, based on the novel. [3] It was directed by Vijay Anand. It starred Dev Anand as Raju, Waheeda Rehman as Rosie, and Leela Chitnis in the lead roles. The film's score was composed by S. D. Burman. The movie's ending differs from that of the novel, in which the fate of some characters remain unanswered.

A 120-minute U.S. version was written by Pearl S. Buck, and directed and produced by Tad Danielewski. The film was screened at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, 42 years after its release.

The novel was also adapted into a play in 1968. [4] The play was profiled in the William Goldman book The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway .

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.

<i>A Tiger for Malgudi</i>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anand (writer)</span> Indian writer

P. Sachidanandan, who uses the pseudonym Anand, is an Indian writer, writing primarily in Malayalam. He is one of the known living intellectuals in India. His works are noted for their philosophical flavor, historical context and their humanism. He is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award and three Kerala Sahitya Akademi Awards. He is also a recipient of Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, Vayalar Award, Odakkuzhal Award, Muttathu Varkey Award, Vallathol Award and Yashpal Award. He did not accept the Yashpal Award and the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Novel.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gopinath Kaviraj</span> Hindu philosopher

Gopinath Kaviraj was an Indian Sanskrit scholar, Indologist and philosopher. First appointed in 1914 a librarian, he was the Principal of Government Sanskrit College, Varanasi from 1923 to 1937. He was also the editor of the Sarasvati Bhavana Granthamala during that period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manoj Das</span> Indian author (1934–2021)

Manoj Das was an Indian author who wrote in Odia and English. In 2000, Manoj Das was awarded the Saraswati Samman. He was awarded Padma Shri in 2001, the fourth-highest Civilian Award in India, and Padma Bhusan in 2020, the third-highest Civilian Award in India for his contribution to the field of Literature & Education.

<i>Guide</i> (film) 1965 film by Vijay Anand

Guide is a 1965 Indian bilingual romantic drama film directed by Vijay Anand and produced by Dev Anand, who co-starred in the film with Waheeda Rehman. Based on R. K. Narayan's 1958 novel The Guide, the film narrates the story of Raj (Anand), a freelance tour guide and Rosie (Rehman), the repressed wife of a wealthy archaeologist.

The Sahitya Akademi Fellowship is a literary honour in India bestowed by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters. It is the highest honour conferred by the Akademi on a living writer, the number of fellows at no time exceeding 21. Elected from among writers thought by the Akademi to be of acknowledged merit, the fellows are sometimes described as the "immortals of Indian literature."

Gururaja Shyamacharya Amur was an Indian professor of literature, writer and critic in both the Kannada and English languages. He was a recipient of many prestigious awards including the Central Sahitya Akademi Award instituted by the Government of India.

Arun Sadhu was a writer and a freelance journalist from Maharashtra, India. He has written in Marathi, Hindi, and English. He is better known for his novel "Simhasan" and "Mumbai Dinank".

<i>Malgudi Days</i> (TV series) Indian television series started in 1980s

Malgudi Days is an Indian television series that started in 1986, and was filmed in both English and Hindi, based on the 1943 short story collection of the same name by R. K. Narayan. The series was directed by Kannada actor and director Shankar Nag. Carnatic musician L. Vaidyanathan composed the score, while R. K. Narayan's younger brother and acclaimed cartoonist R. K. Laxman was the sketch artist. The series was made by film producer T.S. Narasimhan. In 2006, the series was revived for an additional 15 episodes, which were directed by Kavitha Lankesh.

<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.

Mancherath Thazhathethil Govindan (1919–1989) was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature and a cultural activist from Kerala, India. He was known for his writings as well as for his efforts in assisting Anand to publish his debut novel, Aalkkottam, and in the production of Swayamvaram, the debut movie of Dadasaheb Phalke laureate, Adoor Gopalakrishnan. His body of work comprises short stories, poems, articles and plays. He also wrote the screenplay for Nokkukuthi, a 1983 film by Mankada Ravi Varma.

<i>Smarakasilakal</i> 1977 novel by Punathil Kunjabdulla

Smarakasilaka is a Malayalam novel written by Punathil Kunjabdulla in 1977. The story of the novel is woven around a mosque and its surroundings. The key figure is Khan Bahadur Pookkoya Thangal of the rich Arakkal family whose character is a rare mixture of dignity, benevolence and insatiable lust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narayan (writer)</span> Indian author (1940–2022)

Narayan was an Indian author best known for his debut novel Kocharethi (1998). Most of Narayan's novels deal with the lives of the tribal communities of Kerala. He belonged to the Malayarayar tribe and is considered Kerala's first tribal novelist.

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.

<i>Manvini Bhavai</i> 1947 Gujarati novel by Pannalal Patel

Manvi Ni Bhavai is a 1947 Gujarati novel written by Pannalal Patel. It is set in the period of the Indian famine of 1899–1900, locally known as the Chhappaniyo Dukal in Gujarat. The novel centres around the love story of Kalu and Raju as well as the difficult and often tragic life of farmers during the famine. It was translated into English by V. Y Kantak in 1995. It was adapted into a Gujarati film scene in 1993.

Kanhu Charan Mohanty was an Indian Odia language novelist who wrote fifty-six novels in a career spanning over six decades from 1930 to 1985. He is considered "one of the most popular and celebrated novelists of Odisa". Mohanty was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1958 for his novel, Kaa, published in 1956, and was one of the fellows of the Sahitya Akademi. Mohanty died on 6 April 1994 at the age of 87.

References