Rasipuram KrishnaswamiIyer Narayanaswami

Born: 10 October 1906

Died: 13 May 2001

• He was an Indian writer known for his works 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.
• His mentor and friend Graham Greene was instrumental in getting publishers for his first four books including the semi-autobiographical trilogy of Swami and Friends, The Bachelor of Arts and The English Teacher.
• The fictional town of Malgudi was first introduced in Swami and Friends.
• His The Financial Expert was hailed as one of the most original works of 1951 and Sahitya Akademi Award winner The Guide was adapted for film (winning a Filmfare Award for Best Film) and for Broadway.
• He highlights the social context and everyday life of his characters.
• He has been compared to William Faulkner who also created a similar fictional town and likewise explored with humor and compassion the energy of ordinary life.
• His short stories have been compared with those of Guy de Maupassant because of his ability to compress a narrative.
• In a career that spanned over sixty years, he received many awards and honors including the AC Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan, India’s second and third highest civilian awards.
• He was also nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India’s parliament.

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