My Days

My Days is the contemplative and interesting autobiography of R.K. Narayan. Summary Of The Book R.K. Narayan was a trailblazer of English writing in India. He still represents the face of Indian writing in English the world over, popular for his interesting characters and ethnic stories that painted a fascinating picture of India during the pre-independence and post-independence period. In My Days Others Edition, R.K. Narayan traces his life journey up to the point when he became a well established famous writer. It starts with his childhood days and proceeds on to his struggle to find a publisher for his writing,  and then his subsequent success and fame. R.K. Narayan grew up in Madras, at his grandmother’s house. He relates his life there, days spent in the garden of the house playing with his pet peacock, his first experience of school, initial fear of the teachers, and trying to be as unnoticeable as possible. He describes his neighborhood and his days as a young boy in Madras. School did not appeal to him as he was more interested in exploring the excitement of life outside school and training and playing with his pets. He then describes his move to Mysore due to his father’s new job, his college days, and his long walks in the city, especially around Chamundi Hills. This begins another phase of his life, as he settles down in that city. After graduation, he lands a job as a teacher. But, on being forced to take up the job of Physical Trainer too, he gives it up. Meanwhile, despite opposition from his father, he tries to establish himself as a writer. He initially fails to find any publisher. Then, his manuscript of the now famous Swami and Friends comes to the attention of writer Graham Greene. Greene is impressed by it and convinces his publisher to pick up the book. At the suggestion of Greene, Narayan shortens his name from Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami to the crisp R.K. Narayan. His books soon finds many publishers and his writing career begins to flourish. R.K. Narayan also writes about the poignant love story of his life. When he is around 23, he meets a young girl of fifteen and arranges his own marriage. His married bliss with Rajam ends in tragedy when she dies a few years later from typhoid. He is left alone to cope with her death and to look after his little daughter Hema. He has also recorded this period in the semi-autobiographical novel, The English Teacher. My Days Others Edition continues to trace Narayan’s life as he succeeds in finding a way to cope with his loss, and his growing popularity as a writer. He describes his time in the US, which he visited at the invitation of the Rockefeller Foundation. It was during this period that he wrote The Guide, which was subsequently made into a major Hindi feature film. As My Days Others Edition is an autobiography, it ends at that point in his life when he wrote it. In the final chapter of the book, he humorously says that he was tempted to call it the final chapter, but then, how could an autobiography have a final chapter? It is an interesting, compelling memoir, and the only truly autobiographical work by one of the greatest Indian writers, R.K. Narayan. About R.K. Narayan R. K. Narayan is a renowned name in Indian writing in English. Other books by R.K. Narayan are Swami and Friends, The Bachelor of Arts, The English Teacher, Reluctant Guru, Malgudi Days, A Horse And Two Goats, and Under the Banyan Tree And Other Stories. He was known for his true to life characters, stories, and settings that truly reflected the India of that time, and a gentle humor that underlined his simple and lucid style. R.K. Narayan was born in 1906 in Madras (Chennai). As his father was a schoolteacher and his job involved frequent moves, he and his siblings spent most of their childhood in their grandmother’s house in Madras. When his father got a job as a headmaster at the Maharajah’s Collegiate High School in Mysore, he moved to that city and finished his high school and graduation there. He worked as a journalist and as a school teacher before he finally found fame and success as a writer and turned to full time writing to earn his living.