When Malgudi man courted controversy

A look at The Hindu’s archives reveals a different facet of everyone’s favourite author R.K. Narayan

R. K. Narayan, one of the most celebrated 20th century English writers of the country, would have turned 108 on Friday. Photo: The Hindu Archives

On Friday, R.K. Narayan, one of the most-celebrated 20th century English writers of the country, and among Chennai’s most famous residents ever, would have turned 108.

While his gentle demeanour and humane stories are what define him, a look at The Hindu’s archives show a different side of his personality, when he openly expressed anger at another legendary literary figure — Rudyard Kipling.

On June 22, 1958, he created quite a stir by openly condemning Kipling for portraying India in ‘poor light’ while he was touring the U.S. 

Speaking about India and literature to a group of students and professors at Michigan State University, he had caustically said, “Kipling, the supposed expert writer on India, showed a better understanding of the mind of the animals in the jungle than of the men in an Indian home or the marketplace.” For a patriotic writer representing his newly-independent country abroad, it was the problematic preconceived notion of India that especially irked him.

He was convinced Orientalist books by the likes of Kipling perpetuated these beliefs.

Back home in Tamil Nadu, an elaborate debate ensued. Hilton Brown, a reader from Kotagiri, in a letter to the editor in

The Hindu fumed: “I don’t think it was right of him to fire this blast on faraway young people on a subject on which he is obviously ignorant or deluded. All Americans revere lecturers and believe them, but in this case they shouldn’t.”

N. Seetharaman, a reader from Madras, on the other hand, was quick to jump to Mr. Narayan’s defence. In a rejoinder, he wrote, “One cannot deny the fact that Kipling’s book presents India as a jungle inhabited by wizards, wild beasts and aborigines. Foreigners may revere him (Kipling) but we never regarded him as a writer who gave a civilised idea of our life in India.” 

Captain K.K. Lalkaka from Bangalore, in an attempt to defuse tension, responded: “In poking fun, he (Kipling) neither spared his own people or others.” While the debate fizzled out after a couple of weeks, the fact that Narayan invited such polarising opinions was telling.

By offering his readers the possibility of imagining the country afresh, it was a new India that he compelled the world to grapple with.

In many ways, he did live up to the title of being the leading voice of contemporary Indian English language writing at the time.