The Guide...

What shall strike in the mind of a literature student when she hears the name R.K. Narayanan? I actually dont really know...But let me tell you what strikes in my mind when I hear the name ... Malgudi...A fictional town that had been so artistically created that it convinces  the reader that such a town must exist some where..i have never really read any of the author's books before and I had so much respect for him...But as destiny would have it I have R.K. Narayanan's The Guide novel as a part of my syllabus...So I decided to read it....And that wasn't a very good decision I must say...

This is exactly how the cover of the book I read was…

Let me introduce the main characters ..

Raju – nicknamed Railway Raju , son of a shopkeeper who runs a shop in the Railway Station

Rosie – a classical dancer , who later becomes a star dancer under the name nalini..

Marco – Rosie’s archaeologist husband who spends more time in caves than with his beautiful wife..

Gafoor - A cab driver and friend of Raju

Velan – the guy who believes that Raju is a saint..

Yes we do have many other characters like Raju’s parents,his maternal uncle who appear for few paragraphs in the story…

So here goes the story…

Raju after his father’s death takes care of his shop and his mother..he loves being a tour guide and becomes very popular for his services…One day Marco and his wife Rosie come to Raju’s village...Marco is attracted to the ancient caves and Raju to Rosie…Soon begins an illegitimate relationship between Raju and Rosie which ends with Rosie moving in with raju after her husband leaves her.

Rosie becomes a star dancer under the stage name Nalini and Raju enjoys the new found money and fame…Marco re enters their life as he wishes to return a jewellery box to Rosie..Raju forges Rosie’s signature inorder to receive the jewels and ends up in jail..Rosie walks out of his life.

On being released Raju finds a place to stay in a village by the mountain…Velan a farmer assumes Raju to be a great saint and makes everyone in the village offer Raju food and services. Raju assumes the role of the saint and is happy to have found food and shelter..

The village get struck by drought and the people expect Raju to observe a fast…Raju observes fasting though not wholeheartedly…The news spreads onto other places  about a saint observing fast so that it may rain..People in huge numbers pour into the village..Along comes the media …Raju pours out his heart and tells all about his past to Velan…But Velan still seems to be unwavering in the faith he had for Raju…With no other alternative Raju’s fasts continue…the novel ends in a strange context as the reader cannot make up whether it rained or whether Raju died fasting…

For readers who are prefer fast moving plots , this story is a huge NO - NO...