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The_Guide

The Guide is a 1958 novel by R. K. Narayan set in the fictional town of Malgudi, focusing on the transformation of Raju from a corrupt tour guide to a revered spiritual leader. The story explores themes of love, ambition, and redemption, culminating in Raju's fasting during a famine, leaving his fate ambiguous. The novel won the Sahitya Akademi Award and has been adapted into a film and a play.

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18 views3 pages

The_Guide

The Guide is a 1958 novel by R. K. Narayan set in the fictional town of Malgudi, focusing on the transformation of Raju from a corrupt tour guide to a revered spiritual leader. The story explores themes of love, ambition, and redemption, culminating in Raju's fasting during a famine, leaving his fate ambiguous. The novel won the Sahitya Akademi Award and has been adapted into a film and a play.

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© © All Rights Reserved
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The Guide

The Guide is a 1958 novel written in English by the


The Guide
Indian author R. K. Narayan. Like most of his works,
the events of this novel take place in Malgudi, a
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.

This novel earned Narayan the first 1960 Sahitya


Akademi Award for English, by the Sahitya Akademi,
India's National Academy of Letters.[1] 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.[2]

Plot summary
The protagonist, Raju, who is nicknamed "Railway First US edition
Raju", is characterized as being a corrupt and popular Author R. K. Narayan
tour guide. In the story, he falls in love with a beautiful
Language English
woman named Rosie, who is married to an
Genre Philosophical novel
archaeologist named Marco, while the couple is
visiting Malgudi as tourists. Marco disapproves of Publisher Viking Press (US)
Rosie's passion for dancing but Raju encourages Rosie Methuen (UK)
to pursue her dreams and become a dancer. With this
Publication 1958
interaction, they begin to spend time with each other date
and become very close.
Publication India
place
Upon learning about their relationship, Marco leaves
Rosie in Malgudi and returns to Madras alone. Rosie Media type Print (hardcover & paperback)
seeks refuge at Raju's home, and they start living Pages 220 pp
together. However, Raju's mother does not approve of ISBN 0-670-35668-9 (first American
their relationship and leaves them. edition)

Raju becomes Rosie's stage manager, and with his OCLC 65644730 (https://www.worldc
marketing tactics, Rosie gains recognition as a dancer. at.org/oclc/65644730)
With his success, Raju becomes overly confident and
begins to assert more control over Rosie's life for financial gain. He becomes involved in a forgery case
related to Rosie's signature. Raju is sentenced to two years in prison, despite Rosie's defence.
After completing his sentence, Raju passes through a village called Mangal, where he is mistaken for a
sadhu (a spiritual guide). To avoid returning to Malgudi in disgrace, he decides to stay in an abandoned
temple near Mangal. There, he takes on the role of a sadhu, delivering sermons and solving the villagers'
daily problems and disputes.

During a famine in the village, some of the villagers request help from Raju, believing that rain will come
and end the famine if he fasts. Raju decides to confess his entire past to Velan, who had initially
discovered him in the temple and had unwavering faith in him like the rest of the villagers. However,
Velan remains unchanged by the confession, and Raju resolves to continue with the fast.

As news of Raju's fast spreads through the media, a large crowd gathers to witness the spectacle, much to
Raju's annoyance. On the morning of the eleventh day of his fast, he goes to the riverside as part of his
daily ritual. He senses rain falling in the distant hills and collapses into the water. Whether it actually
rained or if Raju died remains unknown and open to the reader's interpretation.

Adaptations
The film Guide was released in 1965, based on the novel.[3] It was directed by Vijay Anand. It starred
Dev Anand as Raju, Waheeda Rehman as Rosie, and Leela Chitnis in the lead roles. The film's score was
composed by S. D. Burman. The movie's ending differs from that of the novel, in which the fate of some
characters remain unanswered.

A 120-minute U.S. version was written by Pearl S. Buck, and directed and produced by Tad Danielewski.
The film was screened at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, 42 years after its release.

The novel was also adapted into a play in 1968.[4] The play was profiled in the William Goldman book
The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway.

References
1. "Sahitya Akademi Awards listings" (http://sahitya-akademi.gov.in/sahitya-akademi/awards/ak
ademi_awards.jsp). Sahitya Akademi, Official website.
2. "The Big Jubilee Read: A literary celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's record-breaking reign"
(https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2Ynpj933DJ2YG5nsMS6fn8k/a-literary-celebrat
ion-of-queen-elizabeth-iis-record-breaking-reign). BBC. 17 April 2022. Retrieved 14 July
2022.
3. Raheja, Dinesh. "Guide; a human odyssey" (http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2002/apr/18dines
h.htm). Rediff.com. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
4. Playbill from 1968 production (http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/5840/The-Guide)
accessed 16 June 2013.

External links
Guide (1965) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059246) at IMdb
Read a Study guide (https://web.archive.org/web/19990117080516/http://www.wsu.edu:808
0/%7Ebrians/anglophone/narayan.html) on the original novel
An analysis (http://www.literature-study-online.com/essays/narayan-guide.html) on the
original novel
Some thoughts about the novel at Let's talk about Bollywood (http://www.letstalkaboutbollyw
ood.com/article-17382307.html)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Guide&oldid=1255027312"

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