It was a two-day railway journey, and I had no books with me to read.
On such occasions I prefer to read fictions which are very much rooted in Indian soil.
It was Patna Junction where I embarked on the journey to Bangalore.
My chances of getting a book or two had still not died, for I could see a few roaming booksellers or sideways bookstalls.
I had no idea why on earth I was so much obsessed with R.
K.
Narayan's books on such a long journey with no books in hand.
My dying hope came to life when a bookseller approached me.
I hustled my way and asked him very hopefully, 'Have you got any R.
K.
Narayan's book?' 'No, Sir.
Why don't you try Chetan Bhagat's Half-Girlfriend?' I was a little disappointed and said, 'No, thanks.
' 'Sir, what about some fairy tales?' Well, my train had started off and I had no books to read.
I cursed myself for not buying that Half-Girlfriend, but I should've hated to read that.
But, of course, I should have definitely tried some 'fairy tales'.
Well, that journey turned out to be one of the most painful journeys of my life, for I also felt cheated by luck at other big stations we halted.
Everyone was selling Chetan Bhagat's Half-Girlfriend when I asked for R.
K.
Narayan's books.
Now, you must be wondering why I didn't buy Half-Girlfriend by Chetan Bhagat.
Well, I do confess I have never read Chetan Bhagat's books before, but when critics say that Chetan Bhagat is a better 'marketeer' than a writer I cease.
I know I'm a very bad critic; but, when Chetan Bhagat himself says that 'my books have no other competitors, but Bollywood movies' then I say it's a bad attitude, Mr.
Bhagat.
Again, I'm a very bad critic in this way.
If you've not heard the name of R.
K.
Narayan, I will tell you that his books were written and read in the pre & post-independence era of the Indian sub-continent.
And, he wrote about an imaginary village of Malgudi and its activities.
He wrote about children and their innocent world; he wrote about hard-working and yet full of life villagers; he also wrote about forests, birds, animals and serpents.
He mostly wrote about good-for-nothing people, and surprisingly they were the heroes of his stories as well.
Culture, religion and Indian philosophy have highly dominated his work.
He hardly wrote about 'big' city dwellers, despite the fact that he was born and raised in Madras, which is, even today, a mega city of India.
It also appears as though he, unlike Chetan Bhagat, shied away from writing love stories.
Isn't it surprising that he won the Sahitya Akademi Award for English for his 'culturely' romantic novel 'The Guide' in the year 1960? By the way, the film adaptation of The Guide has been an all-time blockbuster.
It would be very wrong to say that his novels are old-fashioned and not of the modern era, but his novels are the identity of Indian soil and culture.
And, I thank Mr.
Narayan for writing in English and spreading the aroma and color of Indian culture in the eyes and minds of International readers.
Mr.
Narayan has mostly written stories for children in his collections: Malgudi Days, Swami and Friends, The Bachelor of Arts, and The English Teacher.
Is it not surprising that these books, written about adolescent minds, are widely read by adults? He was the fairy tale writer for adults, and perhaps this is why the bookseller at the railway station had asked me if I would like to buy some fairy tales.
He left us with the perennial mystery of Malgudi in the year 2001; he was 94.