- The Guide is a 1958 novel written in English by the Indian author R. K. Narayan. Like most of his works the novel is based on Malgudi, the fictional town in South India. The novel describes the transformation of the protagonist, Raju, from a tour guide to a spiritual guide and then one of the greatest holy men of India.
- The novel brought Narayan the 1960 Sahitya Akademi Award for English, by the Sahitya Akademi, India’s National Academy of Letters. In 2022, it was included on the “Big Jubilee Read” list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors, selected to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.
- The film Guide was released in 1965, based on the novel. It was directed by Vijay Anand.
- Plot:
- Raju (Nicknamed: Railway Raju) is a corrupt tour guide who is famous among tourists. He falls in love with a beautiful dancer, Rosie, the wife of archaeologist Marco. They have come to Malgudi, the fictional town in South India, as tourists. Marco does not approve of Rosie’s passion for dancing. Rosie, encouraged by Raju, decides to follow her dreams and start a dancing career. In the process they become close to each other. On learning of their relationship, Marco leaves Rosie in Malgudi and goes back to Madras alone. Rosie turns up at the home of Raju and they start living together. But Raju’s mother does not approve of their relationship and leaves them. Raju becomes Rosie’s stage manager and soon, with the help of Raju’s marketing tactics, Rosie becomes a successful dancer. Raju, however, develops an inflated sense of self-importance and tries to control her life. He wants to build as much wealth as possible. Raju gets involved in a case of forgery of Rosie’s signature and gets a two-year sentence despite Rosie’s best efforts to save him. After completing the sentence, Raju passes through a village, Mangal, where he is mistaken for a sadhu (a spiritual guide). Since he does not want to return in disgrace to Malgudi, he decides to stay in an abandoned temple, close to the village. There he plays the role of a Sadhu, delivering sermons and discourses to the villagers and solving their day to day problems and disputes. Soon there is a famine in the village and villagers somehow get the idea that Raju will keep a fast in order to make it rain. Raju confesses the entire truth about his past to Velan, who had first discovered Raju in the temple and had developed faith in him like the rest of the villagers. The confession does not make a difference to Velan and Raju decides to go on with the fast. With media publicizing his fast, a huge crowd gathers (much to Raju’s resentment) to watch him fast. In the morning of the eleventh day of fasting, he goes to the riverside as part of his daily ritual. He feels that the rain is falling in the hills in the distance and he sags down in water. It is unknown and unconfirmed whether it rained, or whether Raju died. It is left up to interpretation of the reader.
The Guide (1958) – R.K. Narayan
About the Author: Abirlal Mukherjee
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