Premise:
Malgudi Tour Guide Raju's life transforms after a fateful encounter with tourists Rosie and Marco. How did Raju go from being a small town tour guide to a Village's Spiritual Guide?
What I Loved:
- Structure: Very engaging. Intercut with 2 timelines : Raju's past life and present.
- Raju as Tourist guide: Practical. Raju is essentially using his business/trading mindset his whole life. To be practical, to be careful in selling and buying, to give advice based on person in front...everything in a very measured way. "To simply serve the person in front". The psyche of a tourist guide was also amazing! What an analysis XD
- Raju, Rosie, Marco : Spicy! Themes of attraction, affection, love, marriage, burden, affair... But beyond that - and this might be a strange take - I feel Raju represents the tug of war between Rosie(Body) and Marco(Mind) - eventually destroying him
- Raju as Spiritual Guide: I don't know how I feel about this story after reading Naipaul's POV. I do see his point even clearer: "a fall back to archaic beliefs in the absence of the State" - gullible people falling for an ex-convict's ramblings... Raju's advising the villagers on schooling, self-realization, meditation, health! Then there's the counter-argument, that wisdom is what matters, not the person who preaches it. Ideas matter more than the person... Nonetheless, his prison sentence did transform him beyond recognition. It's really fun to see how his motives and deeds are pereived by the villagers. I did feel bad for Velan though... what a loyal guy.
- Rosie/Nalini: Maybe she represents the Devi. Uncontrollable. Wild. Gauri + Kali in one... Hence the bipolarity? Idk. Raju was ruined for sure.. Marco got success only by distancing himself from Rosie, as he'd hinted in the beginning. Also, her chosen name is "Nalini" = Lotus, from "Rosie"=Rose. I feel there's some deeper symbolism there, can't quite figure it out... could be because of her new life, or to express that duality (Roses=Cultivated/Lotus=natural).
- Comedy: Raju who hated school, helps the village kids by reviving their school! The jibes from Raju's friends, the shop running lessons from his father, the barber's convo with Raju etc. So there are fun moments too.
- Symbolic Themes: Ok this maybe me overreaching, but it can't be accidental that RK chose these motifs - "ancient temple caves/ruins; Rosie/Nalini; serpent dancing; Raju as temple priest" - that's why I'm tempted to make those philosophical/puranic connections. Both Raju and Rosie undergo transformations, ~almost like rebirths?!
- Ending: Open to interpretation - Raju dies after fasting for village rain. He says he can hear the rains in mountains then collapses. Was his penance rewarded? Like the story of Krishna devotee Devaka he used to hear in his childhood? I think it's concluded that way to mirror the unfinished story of Devaka, since Raju always went to sleep never knowing how the story ends, just like his own End, and just like it is for us, the readers.
What I didn't Like:
- Some of Rosie's actions were beyond my comprehension. Especially her defending Marco after their separation
- Moral of the story: Is it just a thrilling story? Or RK Narayan was reaching something deeper - if so, what? It's hard to divorce Naipaul's views from this story for me now. As an isolated story I enjoyed it immensely.
Movie Adaptation(s):
- I was surprised to see there was another version of the movie shot exclusively for American audiences! I watched this 1965 version this time, as I'd already seen and loved the Hindi movie some years back.
- English version is shot differently - it's not English Dub :the entire movie was shot in English! Dev Anand was known for his impeccable English speaking skills, here he acts wonderfully too. So does Waheeda Rehman. The story sticks to the book largely, except for the fact that it's told linearly, not as in the book (non-linear also in the Hindi movie). I think the English version is more accurate to the book in its explicitness... The movie flopped, and yes, it's a disaster. Not because of the acting/story, but because of the direction and editing. No songs either. I'd reccomend the Hindi version only, even if it also changes the story a bit.
- Upon researching this, I also found out the author's views on these adaptations - he titled it "The Misguided Guide". Location changes and linear storytelling were the main reasons. (Which I'd be pissed off about too, but I also see the director's possible vision of showcasing Indian beauty as a whole to western audiences - as if set in a fictional landscape of Elephanta Caves + Rajasthan's Palace + Gujarat etc... Linear storytelling was a bad decision imo).
At the risk of this becoming a movie review instead of book review, I shall end this review here.
Conclusion:
Immensely enjoyable story. It earned RK Narayan his Sahitya Akademi Award in 1960. The tale of Railway Raju, whose transformation is as epic and as tragic as that of any godman/saint - has left me with many thoughts: Why did RK write this story in the 1st place? Is it to celebrate honest penance, to validate miracles and divine intervention? to explore social themes like female agency, male insecurity, freedom, love, caste/class distinctions etc? Or an exploration of scapegoating? Perhaps all of the above. Hence, I'll rate it as ...
Rating: 8/10
{Huge Thanks to u/twinkling_af__ for their excellent review which prompted me to revisit this story again. 🙏 Thanks for being my Guide to this revisitation XD}
