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'Narayan put English writing up on a pedestal'

T S Satyan

My friendship with R K Narayan lasted more than 60 years. I knew him since my student days. When I was struggling to be a feature writer, he inspired me as a role model.

Narayan started his career when Indian writers in English could not earn a livelihood. They could not even get the bare necessities of life. And he made a career out of it. When I look back, I feel that Narayan, with his modesty, was a steely character to have overcome all those difficulties.

I remember, he got Rs 10 for his first contribution, a short story which he had sent to a magazine called Merry published from Madras in the 1930s. The story was about an eight-year-old boy who wanted to earn some pocket money to wander around the city and buy peanuts for munching. But his parents do not give him permission to do so. That story was called 'Dodo'. I think that name is a pet name of his younger brother R K Laxman, the well- known cartoonist.

I remember, I was struggling at photojournalism and writing in the early 1940s. At that time there was no one in Mysore who could help me. It was Narayan who helped me.

He was senior to me by 18 years, but once he befriended me he spoke to me as an equal. In fact, he could talk to anyone as an equal if he befriended him. Another good point about him was that once he spotted a talent, he used to go all out to encourage the talent.

He was a prolific walker. He used to walk the streets of Mysore, enjoying everything. He was like a child looking at the world with wonder and innocence.

He always loved to share company. He was not a loner. He always loved to be with people. His house in Mysore was open anytime for those who knew him. He was at his best conversing with people, especially in small groups.

Interestingly, he did not have any fixed time for writing. He didn't come to a firm arrangement with fixed times even in his last days. Whenever he felt like writing he used to start. If he had to sit at a friend's place for longer time and some idea struck him, he would start his work.

The interesting part of his writing was that if others took 10 words to write a sentence he would describe that beautifully in five words. And he never used a mechanical device to write. He would always write with a fountain pen.

He used to write, rewrite, through unlimited papers in dustbin and after the final version only he used to sit for typing.

I last met him a year and four months ago during my exhibition of photographs. Despite his friendship, he could not come to the gallery for fear that people will mob him. "People's attention will be distracted from your photographs and that's why I will send my son-in-law to attend the function."

An interesting fact about him is that Narayan failed in English in the university exams and lost an academic year. In that one year, when there was no need for him to attend classes, he used to sit on a granite bench by the lake in Mysore and became a voracious reader of English poetry, Tagore and what not. And one year later, he had mastered the language.

I think Narayan completed his task with glory. His job was to put up English writing on a pedestal. He along with Raja Rao and Mulk Raj Anand formed the trinity of English writing in India.

Narayan was an extraordinarily simple man, always wearing a dhoti and very rarely a suit. He was always comfortable in dhoti and used to eat frugal meals. Another thing is that he took criticism very straight and was not sentimental.

He never wanted to get into political or ideological controversies. He remained a storyteller all his life. And his writing was such that he was read with interest by people of every age group.

T S Satyan, well-known photographer and a personal friend of R K Narayan, spoke to Syed Firdaus Ashraf on telephone from Mysore.

ALSO SEE:
Celebrated author R K Narayan passes away at 95
R K Narayan, R.I.P
'He said he hoped to write till his fingers came off'

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