When I sat and talked to my day (part 4)

Today was an odd day. I got late to wake up again. I had dreams too, that of having a pain on my knee. But nothing too scary. I think it sometimes can be due to overwork or over-reading.

Today let me focus on my habit of reading. I try to meditate through reading. I like all kinds of books, suspense thriller, fact-based, investigative journalism, or the odd short story collection. When I read I am deep into it. However, when I am done I still a bit in trance - thinking of the content. Finally I get a bit restless - can I be good enough to write something worthwhile one day?

These days one such book is making me restless. It is Malgudi Days written by R K Narayan. I have not yet gone deep into his childhood and upbringing, but reading the short stories I can get a feel of the person behind the author. This is actually also a tip for someone wanting to read or starting to read the works of an acclaimed author. Actually his or her works reflect the personality behind the creative talent.

• The writer projects himself or herself into his or her works.
• A few of the early writings will inevitably bear the signature of early life.
• The language will be unique for the writer, there is hardly any writer I have come across who weaves words exactly as another writer!

Malgudi Days is simple, witty, insightful and reflective all at the same time. The characters are real, many of them have flaws but they are loveable. They stick to their values. Some are confused, some jealous, some inconsiderate, but none really villainous. In this aspect, he can be compared to another famous Indian author, Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay. He too was never portraying any villain, as a matter of fact, he could not paint them in any negative way ever.

R K Narayan's language is English. It must have been revolutionary in those days to write in this foreign language. And how well he does it? Those simple sentences flow like river Ganga or the river Danube, by whose banks I was sitting when reading the stories. Often there are glimpses of his deep knowledge on English vocabulary. Though I am never a fan of using difficult words in sentences, the words he choses are so cute that they never feel out of place. 

Take a look at the below excerpt for understanding what I mean by using of nice words and having a free flowing text at the same time.

Sometimes we want to be happy, sometimes we want to rich, sometimes we want recognition, sometimes care. But how often do we want us to be better than our version from yesterday? Not often, right? Read Malgudi Days, or find some episodes of it in Youtube. I can guarantee that you will turn a bit better!

Let me now sign off, catch you all again tomorrow!