Postcolonial Reading of the Novels of RK Narayan

R.K. Narayan, one of the foremost Indian writers to gain international recognition,
began his literary career in the1930s when the freedom struggle was at its peak.
Therefore, what strikes in Narayan’s fiction are his scattered references to the then
contemporary freedom movement and the imperialistic British rule. These references,
recorded, as it were, in his novels seem to tell a profoundly ambivalent story about
Narayan’s relation to the political and nationalist movements that were popular across
India during his early writing period.

This ambivalence resulting from the writers’ scattered references to politics does give
room for the readers to interpret some of R.K. Narayan’s novels from postcolonial
perspective. However, it should be noted here that the allusions to both native and
foreign cultures as found in his novels are not Narayan’s conscious attempt at revealing
his political commitments. Of all the references found in his novels those that refer to
English discourse are of paramount importance to the present chapter. On the one
hand, the reference to English discourse make it clear that the colonial rule acted so
effectively as a seducer that it has weaned the natives away from their own roots. On
the other hand, it served as a provocateur; so much so that the natives aggressively
felt the need for freeing themselves from the clutches of the tyrannical rulers.

Perrhaps this is why Narayan, with few exceptions, does not bother to fictionalize the
Englishman in India. He shows scant respect, too, for "Brown Sahibs" (224), and it must be
said that there are few traces of them in his novels, While willing to praise high ranking
Indian bureaucrats of British India tor their efficiency. Narayan stresses how they had
become dehumanized especially during the national struggle for independence. when
they may well be said to have out-Heroded Herod" (225). Narayan slights Indian
Anglophiles, too, for being "so brainwashed that they would harangue and argue that
India would be chaos if the British left, and called Mahatama Gandhi a demagogue
and mischief maker"

From the beginning of the novel S&F, we see the characters in Swami and Friends
challenging the social norms and political boundaries established by the British rule. Post
colonialism is evident with the first big character encounter in chapter 1 when Mr.
Ebenear, the scripture teacher belittles the religion of Swami and many other native
people and promotes Christianity. Here, it is evident that the British colonization has
influenced people who are natives of the country, but there are still some (like Swami
and later his father and friends) who choose to challenge the lifestyle they are being
pushed towards and instead would like to retain their own cultural norms. We see post
colonialism being embodied here because Swami is not afraid to speak out against
ideas that are pushed on him and the people of his nation by the colonizers, indicating
a strong sense of nationality and fearless support for separation from British ideas.

Throughout the rest of the text, we see Swami and his father going back and forth
between support and disdain for the British rule. For instance, when Swami burns the
British made hat, he is showing his lack of support for the British government and does
not fear any consequences that may be associated with his actions.

Additionally, through the use of young boys to show the more rebellious side of the
political situation, Narayan may be highlighting his turbulent stances on the British rule.
Using children to show this allows Narayan to use their innocence and younger age as
an excuse for their more extreme reactions. For instance, Mani is an angry character
who does not allow people to look down upon him or challenge him. This could be
showing the underlying anger and aggression that the people feel toward British
colonization. Contrarily, Rajam could be showing the more obedient side of the people
because his father is a high ranked police officer and he has grown up in a British
centered environment. These two characters highlight the extreme ends of the stances
that existed in society at the time. Swami can be seen as a good balance between the
two and as a representative of the average Indian child and member of society
because he wants to rebel and is not supportive of British colonization, but sometimes
does feel guilty for expressing his opinions.

Woiting for the Mohotomo (1955). Written eight years

after Indian Independence is also a book where Narayan seems to be doing
a postmortem on the roles played by Indian in their struggle for freedom
and the implications these had for the future.' To this end, Narayan weaves
the story of his central character, Sriram, and his obsessive pursuit of the Gandhian
activist. Bharati. with all the major happenings of the preindependence
years: the Quit India Movement, Gandhi's non-violent programs
against British rule and for mental emancipation of all Indians, his arrests,
the Dandi March, the violent struggles against the British, Including Subhas
Bose's program for the National Army, and the repressive response,
independence itself, partition and the chaos that accompanied it,and at the
end, the assassination of Gandhi. In Waiting for the Mahatma, Narayan wants to
suggest through this novel his belief that the massive problems and bloodletting that
accompanied India's independence. the thwarted ideals of non-violence and the
promises denied in the years that followed, were inevitable when viewed in the context
of Gandhi's life and death, the nature of his followers, and the eventual dissipation of his
ideals of non-violence. Narayan presents Gandhi as a wise. principled. and inspirational
leader who knew that Indians had to change themselves and their society
fundamentally if they were to achieve true independence. With the exception of
Bharati. however. the Gandhi of the novel attracts followers who join his movement
more out of self-interest than love of him or India. Because nearly everyone-ho had
joined Gandhi's movement against British rule does so without a change in their hearts
and minds. When independence comes India is shown to be a land where. nothing
much had been transformed even after the British had left. : Wailing for the Mahatama
is Narayan's most direct attempt to "explore postcolonial responsibility" even as it is
presented as a story of disappointment (Brennan 63). It is also Narayan's most overly
political work on a topical issue of national importance. Gandhi's death andhis legacy
in post-independence India.

In The Man-eater of Malgudi , we find two opposite forces functioningmainly through

the characters of Vasu and Nataraj. Vasu stands for the colonizers who dominated the
nativesbeing an outsider. On the other hand, an almost innocent person like
Natarajsuffers because of his simple textureand inferior attitude. In addition, Nataraj is
sometimes appreciative of Vasu’s activities and attitudes as thecolonized people were
addicted to thelifestyle of the colonizers during colonialism.

The symbol of the rakshasa in The Man-eater of Malgudi as asymbol of colonialism

imposed upon India. A rakshasa is a “demonic creature who possessed enormous
strength, strangepowers, and genius, but recognized no sort of restraints of manor God.
Every rakshasa gets swollen with his ego. He thinks heis invincible, beyond every law”
(Narayan 72). Like the rakshasa,Vasu feels no restraint in the town of Malgudi. He makes
Nataraj‟s home his own and shows little respect for what he isgiven. He disturbs the
harmony of the local practices and dies onhis own at the end.

In short, a postcolonial reading of Narayan offers us a novelist consistently dialogizing

through his tiction changes in Indian society under the impact of 'colonial rule and'
westernizing. In addition, a postcolonial reading of his novels shows a Narayan who
does not habitually pit himself against such changes, but represents transformations in
society and consciousness as inevitable and, in some cases, even desirable. Reading
Narayanpostcolonially, we could also say, makes us see a Narayan writing with historic
specificity about competing visions of India in his novels without committ.ing himself to
either a reactionary or radical position, although in the final analysis he comes off as
more progressive than he is often made out be.