Written By: Dr.Kanika K Arya
Month/Year: July 2022
ISBN: 978-81-946971-2-1
Publisher: In-Depth Communication
About Book:
R.K. Narayan is a writer whose stories have enamoured my soul whether it was the rendition of stories on the audio visual medium or the books that filled my hands and mind with treasures of common and mystical. These stories are created in the simple yet magical world of Malgudi which has a wealth of peculiar characters straight out of a town or village in India; these common folk and their idiosyncrasies amuse and connect us with them in an incomprehensible way. We can analyse ourselves and our imperfections through reading their stories.
These stories are a mirror to human frailties, thus, inspiring us to live rather than always trying to become better version of ourselves. Ambition, glamour, development, technology, competition, to grow big and do big is what has never touched Narayan stories…his characters live unperturbed in simple villages, simply enjoying every morsel and every conversation that comes their way.
Indian myths and folklore form the bedrock of his stories. Simply told yet holding didactic messages through symbolic connect to mythology and Vedic and Puranic texts. A Narayan story is a sneak peek into the unpretentious common folk and their life and ambitions; wish the writer was presenting another story to us where how social media and digitization affects the amusing world of Malgudi would have been a treat to read!
This book is an endeavour from my side to write about the contribution of Narayan to Indian English Literature and attempting a commentary upon some of his remarkable works
Author Bio:
Dr. Kanika K Arya is a PhD in Mass Communication; post-graduation in Mass Communication and English literature. A UGC-NET qualified educator with twelve years of teaching experience at varied colleges affiliated to University of Mumbai. My subject expertise includes – Communication Skills, English Literature, Journalism, Media Research and Film Studies. I have two research papers published in UGC Care and Scopus indexed journals, also some with peer reviewed journals, few more presented at national
and international conferences and have also have recently published two book chapters in a book on
Film Studies.
My academic oeuvre includes working as a full-time faculty with Amity University, Noida and SPDS,
Thane; besides I have actively worked as a visiting faculty at Birla College, Kalyan; Bedekar College,
Thane; Mumbai University- Thane Campus; National College, Bandra; Vidyalankar School of
Information Technology, Wadala and Hinduja College, Mumbai. I have been a syllabus reframing
committee member for Mass Media at University of Mumbai, a paper setter, resource person and
viva voce examiner for mass media course at various colleges affiliated with University of Mumbai
I am an active blogger and an explorative writer; I am a Hindi cinema enthusiast albeit a Film
Appreciation course with FTII and my PhD research labyrinth on Hindi cinema has broadened the
horizons of cinematic world for me. I am an observant writer and whatever intrigues me; I collect on
my blog; besides I write film reviews and some didactic pieces.