DRAMA

R. K. Narayan

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Ayyar Narayanaswami, known as R.K. Narayan (October

10, 1906 – May 13, 2001), was one of the greatest Indian writers in English. He is
particularly known for his novels based in the fictional town of Malgudi.
Narayan was born at Chennai, Tamil Nadu in South India. Narayan studied at his father’s
school and maintained a diligent dislike for studies.

THE PAINTER OF SIGNS:(story)

This bittersweet novel is as fresh and charming today as it was when originally published.
Telling the story of Raman, a conscientious sign-painter, who is trying to lead a rational
life, the novel is filled with busy neighborhood life and gossip, the alternating rhythms
and sounds of the city from morning till night, and the pungent smells and tantalizing
flavors of home cooking, as Narayan portrays everyday life in Malgudi. The city is
growing and changing, as its inhabitants try to carve out some individual successes within
the juggernaut of “progress.”

Raman, a college graduate, brings a sense of professionalism to his sign-painting, taking

pride in his calligraphy and trying to create exactly the right sign, artistically, for each
client. Living with his aged aunt, a devout, traditional woman whose days are spent
running the house and tending to her nephew’s needs and whose evenings are spent at the
temple listening to the old stories and praying, Raman prefers a rational approach to life,
avoiding the explanations of life’s mysteries which religion provides. As he begins to
write his aunt’s biography, which she is dictating, with all its portents and interventions
by deities, Raman asks, “How could the Age of Reason be established if people were like
this?” For his own life, he believes that “ultimately he can evolve a scheme for doing
without money,” and that he can “get away from sex thoughts,” which he believes are
“too much everywhere.”

Then he meets Daisy. A young woman devoted to improving the lives of women and the
standard of living of the country through strict family planning, Daisy becomes his
biggest customer, commissioning signs for all the family planning clinics she helps
establish through the city and outlying rural areas. Accompanying her so he can select
exactly the right location and style for the signs that are needed in the countryside, he
finds himself totally bewitched by this liberated and high-minded young woman.
Inevitably, his attraction to Daisy proves more powerful than this desire to avoid the
entanglements of marriage.