An unusual and witty travel book about the United States of America. At the age of fifty, when most people have settled for the safety of routine, R. K. Narayan left India for the first time to travel through America. In this account of his journey, the writer’s pen unerringly captures the clamour and energy of New York city, the friendliness of the West Coast, the wealth and insularity of the Mid-West, the magnificence of the Grand Canyon...Threading their way through the narrative are a host of delightful characters—from celebrities like Greta Garbo, Aldous Huxley, Martha Graham, Cartier Bresson, Milton Singer, Edward G. Robinson and Ravi Shankar to the anonymous business tycoon on the train who dismissed the writer when he discovered Narayan had nothing to do with India’s steel industry. As a bonus, there are wry snapshots of those small but essential aspects of American life—muggers, fast food restaurants, instant gurus, subway commuters, TV advertisements, and American football. An entrancing and compelling travelogue about an endlessly fascinating land.

When R.K. Narayan Passed Away Last Year At The Age Of Ninety-Four, Tributes Poured In From Fans And Admirers, Celebrating The Art Of This Master Storyteller Who Has Often Been Described As India'S Greatest English Language Writer. Narayan Is Better Known For His Novels Set In The Fictional South Indian Town Of Malgudi, But His Essays Are As Delightful And Enchanting As Any Of His Novels. This Collection Begins With The Short Essays Which Narayan Wrote As A Weekly Contribution To The Hindu, The Subjects Of Which Are As Diverse As Umbrellas, Weddings, Monkeys, South Indian Coffee, Films, The Black Market, Old Age, The Caste System, Gardening And Vayudoot. The Later, Longer Essays Dwell On The Cultural Ambiguities That Persist In Our Nation: Narayan S Description Of The Linguistic Confusion Between The North And The South With The Advent Of National Television Is Reminiscent Of The Misunderstood Messages In His Famous Story 'A Horse And Two Goats'. The Highlight Of This Section Is A Scathingly Funny Essay On The Making Of The Film The Guide, A Project That Distorted Narayan S Narrative Beyond Recognition. In A Separate Section On The World Of The Writer, Narayan Describes The Predicament Of Writing In English In India, An Art Which He Pioneered, And The Pitfalls Of Being Considered For The Nobel Prize In Literature Which He Never Got. This Volume Also Includes The Complete Text Of My Dateless Diary, Narayan S Jottings About His Travels In America When He Was In The Process Of Writing The Guide. As He Journeys Across The Vast Continent On A Diet Of Rice And Yoghurt And Without The Aid Of An Alarm Clock, Narayan Recounts A Myriad Memorable Moments, From His Encounter With The Mysterious Greta Garbo To The Evening Gathering Where He Is Hailed As One Of The Three Greatest Living Authors In The World. Taken Together, These Writings Provide A Fascinating Glimpse Into The Private World Of One Of The Most Gifted Writers Of Our Time, And Reveal The Ways In Which Narayan Was Able To Convert The Small And Ordinary Things Of Everyday Life Into Memorable Literary Anecdotes.

Over a career spanning seven decades, R.K. Narayan, easily one of the most influential and important writers of India, populated the fictional town of Malgudi with a host of unforgettable characters: Swami and his gang of friends, the Talkative Man, Raju the guide and Sampath the printer, among many others. These characters have carved out a place for themselves in popular imagination and live on, still fresh and endlessly entertaining, many decades after they first appeared. Timeless Malgudi brings together a selection of the best and the most enduring of R.K. Narayan's fiction and nonfiction. The Guide examines, with wit and irony, how a man becomes a godman. The story 'A Horse and Two Goats' describes an attempt at crosscultural communication which goes haywire, with hilarious consequences. The excerpt from My Days, Narayan's autobiography, paints a poignant picture of the author's childhood while the 'Misguided Guide' is a cynical, sharply written chronicle of the making of the film Guide, based on his novel. Also included in this volume are excerpts from the travelogue My Dateless Diary and a brilliant retelling of the Tamil epic Silappadikaram.

The pick of thirty years of essays from R.K. Narayan, India's greatest English language novelist. R.K. Narayan is perhaps better known as a novelist, but his essays are as delightful and enchanting as his stories and novels. Introducing this selection of essays, Narayan writes, 'I have always been drawn to the personal essay in which you see something of the author himself apart from the theme...the scope for such a composition is unlimited—the mood may be sombre, hilarious or satirical and the theme may range from what the author notices from his window to what he sees in his waste-paper basket to a world cataclysm.' A Writer's Nightmare is the marvellous result of Narayan's liking for the personal essay. In the book, he tackles subjects such as weddings, mathematics, coffee, umbrellas, teachers, newspapers, architecture, monkeys, the caste system, lovers—all sorts of topics, simple and not so simple, which reveal the very essence of India.

"I am inclined to call this the last chapter, but how can an autobiography have a final chapter? At best, it can only be a penultimate one; nor can it be given a rounded-off conclusion, as is possible in a work of fiction." So begins the last chapter of My Days, the only memoir from R. K. Narayan, hailed as "India's most notable novelist and short-story writer" by the New York Times Book Review. In his usual winning, humorous style, R. K. Narayan shares his life story, beginning in his grandmother's garden in Madras with his ferocious pet peacock. As a young boy with no interest in school, he trains grasshoppers, scouts, and generally takes part in life's excitements. Against the advice of all, especially his commanding headmaster father, the dreaming Narayan takes to writing fiction, and one of his pieces is accepted by Punch magazine (his "first prestige publication"). Soon his life includes bumbling British diplomats, curious movie moguls, evasive Indian officials, eccentric journalists, and "the blind urge" to fall in love. R. K. Narayan's larger-than-life perception of the human comedy is at once acute and forgiving, and always true to it.

Four gems, with new introductions, mark acclaimed Indian writer R. K. Narayan's centennial Introducing this collection of stories, R. K. Narayan describes how in India "the writer has only to look out of the window to pick up a character and thereby a story." Composed of powerful, magical portraits of all kinds of people, and comprising stories written over almost forty years, Malgudi Days presents Narayan's imaginary city in full color, revealing the essence of India and of human experience. This edition includes an introduction by Pulitzer Prize- winning author Jhumpa Lahiri. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

This amalgam of essay, literary criticism, and memoir blends into a tribute to the world of books. Chicago...

Marcus Atkinson is a cricket god (not!). But his dad is convinced that Marcus has magic in his wrists. Marcus is a Maths whiz who is not good at sport. His dad is a self-help author who thinks Marcus can achieve anything he sets his mind to, with hilarious results. In illustrated diary format, Marcus's gentle, satiric humour and comic drawings will have readers laughing out loud while learning a surprising amount about cricket. Praise for Diary of a Soccer Star: 'Shamini scores a goal with every page!' Timothy Richards, aged 9

Jaikishan Patel belongs to a traditional Gujarati family but follows his passion; stepping into the glamorous; jet-setting world of investment and private banking. Jai is soon transformed into Dubai-based ‘Jack’ Patel; a hugely successful financial advisor in an American brokerage house. His life seems like a dream come true. He cracks a whopping million-dollar revenue target; receives an indecent proposal from a client’s wife and even manages to keep up with the latest Bollywood item numbers to impress the girl who is tugging at his heart. But just when life seems perfect; recession hits the world economy. And right before Jack’s eyes his world begins to fall apart . . . Will he lose the love of his life too? Or will things look up in the end?

An engaging portrait of Hampstead Heath – a place rich not just in natural wonders but in history and monuments, emotions and memories, people and places. 'I enjoyed every inch of the way, from Parliament Hill to the Pergola... A late-life little masterpiece' Ferdinand Mount 'A love letter, both to the Heath and to his late wife' Islington Tribune 'An affectionate book which blends personal anecdote, history and interviews' Ham & High The eight hundred acres of Hampstead Heath lie just four miles from central London; and yet unlike the manicured inner-city parks, it feels like the countryside: it has hills and lakes, wild spots and tame spots. Hunter Davies has lived within a stone's throw of Hampstead Heath for more than sixty years and has walked on it nearly every day of his London life. For him, it is not just a place of recreation and relaxation but also a treasure-house of memories and emotions. In The Heath, he visits all parts of this, the largest area of common land in Britain's capital city: from Kenwood House to the Vale of Health, from Parliament Hill to Boudicca's Mound, and from the Ladies Bathing Pond to the fabulous pergola. As he walks, Davies talks to the diverse array of individuals who frequent the Heath: regulars; visitors; dog walkers; stall holders at the weekly farmer's market; famous faces having their morning stroll; twenty-first-century hippies spreading peace, love and happiness.