R. K. Narayan

R. K. Narayan was one of six boys and two girls in his family. His father was a school headmaster and due to frequent moves, Narayan's grandmother cared for him for parts of his childhood. His family spoke primarily English, and Narayan read a number of books by British authors as a child. Narayan's experience of higher education was difficult; he failed his university entrance exams the first time, and when he was finally accepted, it took him a year longer than expected to finish his bachelor's degree. While at university and directly after, Narayan wrote book reviews and stories for English newspapers. In 1933, Narayan met and married his wife, Rajam, who was 15 years old when they met. Two years later, Narayan finally published his first novel, Swami and Friends, which he finished writing before he married. Rajam died in 1939 of typhoid, which sent Narayan into a period of depression. He published the book that's now considered his masterpiece, The Financial Expert, in 1951. Narayan began working on his translation of the Ramayana in the mid 1960s to fulfill a promise he made to his uncle years earlier, and he published his condensed translation of the Mahabharata in 1978. He spent the later years of his life traveling, writing, and dabbling in farming. He stopped giving interviews after a photo shoot to accompany an interview in Time magazine landed him in the hospital for several days. Narayan died in the hospital, after asking his publisher to purchase him a specific notebook in which to start another novel. While Narayan translated the Ramayana, he did not write the original. Valmiki is considered the “first poet” in Sanskrit literature, and probably wrote the original Ramayana. Because the Ramayana has been changed and embellished so much over the years, it's impossible to date either Valmiki's life or when he wrote the Ramayana. Scholars believe now that Valmiki and the Ramayana can be dated to between 500 BCE to 100 BCE. However, many believe that Valmiki was actually a contemporary of Rama's, and gave Sita shelter when Rama banished her the second time.