Who remembers Malgudi Days?

Right from the time I remember watching ‘Malgudi Days’ on Doordarshan as a kid, I have been drawn to RK Narayan’s world.

It’s a world of humor, witty observations, and philosophical ruminations on life, and one that holds our humanity in the deepest compassion.

There’s no better pilgrimage for a writer and a literature buff than visiting the haunts of authors you love.

I have run to Ernest Hemingway’s house in Chicago, given red roses to my love, Oscar Wilde, in Dublin, murmured poetry over the grave of WB Yeats, and sipped wine in Arthur Conan Doyle’s house (now a pub) in Edinburgh.

Literature pilgrimages are my thing. 😎

Finding RK Narayan’s house in Mysore was a delight, therefore. It’s here that the writer lived with Sheba, his beloved dog, writing his artistry while looking out to a quiet street in the city.

As I walked around, I remember being in awe. You walk through rooms filled with pictures of his life. His clothes still hang on the wall, a beloved overcoat that’s bereft of its owner. Some of his favorite books still sit, waiting for someone to read them again. Awards frame the wall. Correspondence and praise from other writers. A world of words and wonder.

My favorite room was RK Narayan’s study: a balmy, spacious room lit up by eight windows and overlooking a balcony. I could imagine the great storyteller spinning stories for us from here.

RK Narayan made #storytelling trend for decades before it became a fancy hashtag on social media.

I remember leaving in awe. And to remind myself again of one of the reasons we write: so we are remembered.

Have you read RK Narayan? Or watched the series?

I send you light and love.