The Bachelor of Arts – RK Narayan

The Bachelor of Arts is a fictional novel written by RK Narayan .A brilliant account of Indian bachelorhood of pre-independent India. No one can portray the liveliness of Indians better than he can. It is a treat to read his characters, his subtle descriptions of our customs, his gentle humor …above all his unpretentious writing style !

The backdrop of the story setup in the customary RK Naryan’s imaginary place, which is none other than “Malgudi” .The Novel begins with Chandran (The Protagonist), a college-going final year BA history graduate who reminds in every way a typical Indian youngster. After finishing college, in the midst of so many advises and suggestions, Chandran soon finds himself in the dilemma of what to do next. At last, he decides to pursue his studies in England. Before taking his leave from his native place, Chandran falls in love with a girl called Malathi and wants to get married to her. Being in a conservative society, where a mere talk to a girl raise lots of eyebrows ,Chandran face a hard time in convincing his parents about his affair. Though Chandran’s parents agreed to consider the girl, soon fate interrupts in the form of Horoscopes (which is still followed in India) and shatters Chandra’s dream of marrying Malathi. Unable to forget Malathi, Chandran eludes the normal life and start to wander like a “Sanyasi” for 8 months. However, his affectionate towards his parents made him to understand the reality and brought him back his senses. Soon Chandran begins a fresh life and engages himself to work towards his promising carrier. After much hesitancy, Chandran’s parents propose him to get married to a girl named Susila. The story ends up with Chandran engaged to Susila and falling in love with her…

One of the remarkable things to be noticed in this book is its stunning reality. There is nothing heroic in the character “Chandran”, yet he captures an indelible place in reader’s mind. One can easily relate to his character. There are also other noticeable characters like Chandran’s mother/father/brother (Brings in front the image of a prefect conservative family), professor Gajapathy (reminds me one of my college Prof.), Ganapathi Sastrigal (a typical Matchmaker), Chandran’s friends Ramu and Mohan. There is no fakeness in any character. Each and every instances in the book reminds something around us, which is the specialty of RK Narayan’s work.

This is just a story about a Man’s ups and downs over a phase of his life. If you prefer simple/Light reading, you can go for this book and you will surely relish this!