THE GUIDE

Introduction
This novel by R.K Narayan comes under Indo-Anglican literature. It is associated with Indian English. R.K Narayan is a good example of an Indian writer who wrote in English. It was written with western readers in mind. The Indian novel in English has a capacity to present Indian life in western life to the western readers. The theme of these novels is always social problems. In R.K Narayan’s ‘The Guide’ there is the theme of happiness and fulfillment through suffering in sanyas.
R.K Narayan was born in 1906 at a south Indian village, he settled in Mysore where the regional language is Kannada, and he writes in English. At first he wrote for news papers and magazines. His novels are ten in numbers and 51 short stories. Most of his novels are translated into European languages. Narayan’s novels are artistic without political movements and propaganda. His stories are without preaching, advising and converting. The basic theme of his novels is the play of a man in universe and his predicament. His stories are always about Indian middle class, common people and common situations. The plots are not extra-ordinary or heroic. His heroes are average human being with ordinary qualities.

Malgudi
All his stories are taking place in and around Malgudi, which is a symbol of transitional India coming out of old-age traditions and accepting traditional western civilization. It is the bridge between east and west. Malgudi is an imaginary town created by the writer; it has a municipality, a town hall, a club and two schools. The small town is surrounded by Memphi Hills and caves. The river and temples becomes great attractions to tourists. Some critics have observed that Malgudi is the real hero of his stories, because the characters live and die but Malgudi remains.
Malgudi is present in all the novels of R.K Narayan. It is a semi-agricultural of Swami and friends. In the guide not only the town Malgudi with its railways influence the story of Raju and not only the physical side if Malgudi that attracts Narayan. The land maybe real or imaginary, but it is the land of heart’s desire. The habits, fashion, superstition, activities, education, society, economy and religion are all portrayed with minute details and in a realistic manner by the novelist.

Characters
Narayan novels are mainly novels of characters. His characters may not be as great as that of Shakespeare, but it’s only next to greatest artists. He uses his people from middle class from south India. There are full of life and vitality. They are human in their likes and dislikes and there is nothing extraordinary about them. Strange?
The heroes of Narayan are never drawn in heroic scale. They are average human being and they do not possess extraordinary capabilities. The hero does not control the event. The women character in The Guide who is unhappy with her marriage and she wants to be a dancer.

Raju
Raju is the most interesting character in the story. Born and brought up in a lower middle class family, in a corner of Malgudi. He had learned everything from life. His education was irregular but he was an expert in understanding human nature. The moment he saw Marco and Rosie arrived from the train, he knew they were his lifelong customers. Raju was successful man though he was in jail for a brief period. As a guide and a manager of stage he was quite successful. His first role as an owner of a railway shop platform, his second role as a tourist guide and finally the role of an entertainer was also by an accident. His affair with Rosie resulted in his downfall in the beginning, but later it improved with her dancing career. In the fourth stage he was convict but became an ideal prisoner. Towards end Raju was forced to become a holly man to the people of Mangala Village.
He was taken in to prison because of a voluntary act of forgery. This is the only act that he was punished for his own action. Otherwise most of the things happen to him. He does not want to become a holly man but circumstances forced him to adopt path of a Swami. He wants to tell the villagers of his past, but he could not do it. So he becomes what the villagers wanted him to be.
Raju is a man of materialist and a man of surface emotions. Like nobody he is a creator of circumstances. He suffers because of the consequences of his passion mainly. He acts rather than he lives. His life is falsehood and hypocrisy. As a lover Raju is spontaneous and admirable. Marco neglects his wife Rosie, which gives chance to Raju to take care of her sentiments, tastes and temperament. His genuine sympathy for Rosie developed into a physical relationship. Kind hearted Raju is liked by everyone. He does not actually take away Rosie from Marco, she came 
to him herself. Raju more or less created Nalini – the dancer; his motive was not exactly an artistic passion, but Nalini does not remain as a doll in the hand of Raju. For her dance it’s not a mean of making money, but a cause and a devotion. Finally she goes out of Raju’s life altogether to live an independent life dedicated to her art.
In the final part of the story Raju who settles in Mangala village becomes a spiritual Guru to fulfill the social need of the people. Raju in turn becomes a railway shopkeeper, tourist guide, an adulterer, a dancer’s manager, a prisoner and at last a Swami.

Rosie
She is the heroin of the novel as she is present more than half of the story. She has a master degree in economics. She marries Marco for social reasons; she is attracted by excitement of a new life with wealthy intellectual when she sees the matrimonial advertisement. She remains essentially as an artist and this quality is exploited by Raju for his personal advancement. Rosie commits adultery when she gets involved with Raju. After Raju’s imprisonment she returns to Madras where she continues her career of a dancer.
Rosie is a daughter of a Dhevadasi for whom dancing is blood and sprit. She marries Marco not out of love but out of respect for his social intellectual status.
Narayan describes Rosie being glamorous but not very beautiful. She had bright eyes and good figure, but her completion was not very fair. She loves dancing more than her husband, Raju or anything in her life. It’s her madness for dancing that lead problems of her life. As she obtains perfection in her dancing career she becomes more successful than her husband who is a scholar.
Rosie is called snake women by Raju during the last phases of his life. It is also because she is fond of cobras. She is a mystery, vision and above the reach of both Marco and Raju. We understand that she is a woman of independent mind and thinking. She cannot be easily misled as she is intelligent. As a married woman she tries to adjust her husband’s wishes but Marco’s indifference and hatred for dancing pushed her towards Raju. She is an inferiority complex because of her low birth. She also becomes Raju’s trouble. She is Indian in appearance, thinking and spirit but she is modern in her action. Her marriage is a failure because of her split personality. The novelist has presented her successfully as an interesting character. She is a woman of tragic elements and materialism does not interest her. She is only an unhappy artist. She is also a pathetic teamer because she is a great person who deserves our sympathy. Her sense of rhythm in dancing faces to create harmony in her life. She is like a rainbow which can be only seen but cannot be touched or possessed.

Marco
Marco is a whole heartedly devoted scholar while his wife Rosie is devoted to dancing. In her life nothing is more important than dancing. Their ambition play major part but they are honest about their feelings. Marco marries Rosie to raise her social strength. As she was a daughter of a dancer her community does not enjoy social status. They were public women. It was difficult to a Devadasi to get a husband like Marco. Marco had always made her realize that he has done a favor to her in marrying her. As a result he never accepted as equal and she felt inferior to him in spite of her education.
Marco never extended affection or warm feelings to keep Rosie happy. He expected that she would be understanding and mature, but he could not understand a woman’s feelings. There was no respect for her desires. He treated her coldly and cruelly. He always considered dancing a cheap activity. If he had consideration Rosie would have been loyal to him. He was an unsuccessful husband.
Marco however is very honest and sincere. He is a true scholar. He became famous after publication of his book. Towards the end of the novel he wishes to send the jewelries back to her. He is also kind to give Rosie complete freedom once they separated.

Childhood days of Raju
Raju lives in a small house opposite to Malgudi station. His father was a shopkeeper who sold peppermint fruit, tobacco, betel leaf, parched gram and such other petty particles. Raju helped his father in the shop keeping while sitting at the shop selling peppermints and eating them was easy for Raju. But he did not like to be wake up at the shattering cry of the eccentric cockerel every morning. He hated learning alphabets and simple arithmetic from his father. Whenever he as free he played under the tamarind tree. Raju had no company and enjoyed looking at the scene and men who visited his father’s shop.
One day Raju noticed much activity in front of his house. Later he learned that a railway truck and railway station were to be built there. There was a great excitement. When the truck were parked under the tamarind tree Raju went on playing on the mud and construction materials. One day his father’s friend heard Raju using bad language. He complained to his father and Raju’s father was very angry at this.
So he decided to send him to school. His father admitted Raju to the pyol school thought Albert mission school was nearer his father did not send him there, because his father believed that 
there the boys were converted to Christianity. The Pyol School was run by an old teacher. All the classes were held at the pyol in front of his house at the same time. The teacher made the students ready loudly from their book and copy down the letters on their slates. The teacher was a very abusive man. The teacher was pain one rupee per month for each boy. However the boys brought presents and eatables frequently. Whenever the teacher is short of articles he would ask the boys to bring it out to him from his home.
The boys made a lot of noise. They were very mischievous. Raju’s mother made much fuss on his first day to the school. Raju was very happy at the attention given to him. Later he was bored with all the activities. He took his own time to reach the school. The teacher was always busy with the household works. The students followed the teacher, the moment his back was turned. One day the students found him cooking in the kitchen. All the boys giggled and the old master was very angry. He frightened them to hand over to the police if they followed him. That day onwards their attention diverted to the drain running beneath the pyol. They made paper boats and floated it in the drain water.
Raju was intelligent, though the teacher was abusive he could learn much very soon because within a year he was found fit to be admitted to the first standard in the Board High School. The teacher himself took Raju and two others there and blessed them before leaving. Here the writer speaks about the kind hearted teacher though he was abusive. In this was R.K.Narayan gives a detailed account of Raju’s early life.




Describe Raju as a guide of tourist
After the railways come to Malgudi Raju’s father opened a shop at the station and Raju was asked to look after the shop. The business was very brisk but Raju’s education came to an end. After his father’s death he was completely incharge of the business. He was always giving guidance to tourists who came to Malgudi. Gradually he involved into a part time shopkeeper and full time tourist guide.
Thereafter he came to be called as “Railway Raju”. As a result of his constant contact with tourists he developed the habit of taking them to historical places, temples and places of scenic beauty. The tourists were pleased with his service and his fame spread far and wide. He was intelligent and eager. He learnt to recognize a tourist and a customer as soon as they step on to the platform. Slowly he became an expert guide as he could guess the economic condition of a tourist and prepared himself to cater to their needs.
Sometimes he arranged for the tourists to watch the trappings of elephants or bears. He was in constant touch with the forest department. If someone wanted to see a tiger or shoot one he could arrange it. In the same manner Raju also arranged a cobra dance for Rosie.



Describe the meeting between Raju and Velan
After his release from the prison Raju comes to Mangala Village and decided to settle in an old temple on the bank of a river. The man named Velan come and sit with Raju. He tells him about his domestic problems especially about his youngest sister. Raju ask Velan to bring the girl to him. He talks to the girl and results in miraculous changes. She consents to marry the boy chosen by the family. Velan is very happy and he starts to respect Raju as a holy man. Soon the news spreads in the village and people start visiting the old temple where Raju was staying. They brought with them food and fruits. They look upon Raju as a great man who could work miracles. The episode of Velan projects Raju as a saint. Towards the end of the story Raju narrates his past to make Velan understand that he was only an ordinary man, but Velan never stops to respect him. So Raju continues to live as a saint in the eyes of the villagers.
The guide is a story of a man who deceives society by passing for a spiritual man. Discuss
Raju in The Guide saint accidently. He fights himself in the role of a holy man. He performs with great interest, partly for the sake of self preservation and also because it suits his personality. It is Raju’s habit to perform whatever role is assigned to him by fate. He learns that the essence sainthood seems to be once ability gives mystifying statements. Once he accepts the part of a saint Raju with characteristic thoroughness pays attention to details like his appearance, his beard etc
Another act that confirms Raju’s career as a saint is his establishment of a night school in the temple. This school becomes the center around which the village people gather every evening to listen to Raju’s discourses and stories. These evening sessions grow in popularity until Raju became a public figure, but the idea of a school originates quite by accident. Even the final episode of fasting originates in a similarly insignificant manner. During the prolonged drought the villagers are tense and a minor quarrel develops into a fight. This news upsets Raju not because he is genuinely concerned about the welfare of the village people, but because he is afraid that the disturbance might attract public notice to the village and if the news paper reports and policeman arrives Raju’s identity might be disclosed. It is a purely selfish reason that makes him announce that if the people continue such foolish acts him would stop eating food. Velan’s brother who carries this message delivers it in a wrong manner. Hence the villagers believe that Raju, the saint, is going to fast waiting for the rain.
The villagers who believe the message stop bringing him food. The purpose of accepting the role of a Swami was free supply of food but now the supply has stopped. Playing the part of a 
saint has reached the situation was no longer under his control. Raju himself had said in his discourse that a saint would undergo sacrifice and suffering to purify the sins of others, but it was the faith of the people that compel him to act as Swami. There is a moment of illumination in which he acquires power to go beyond himself. The Swami in a saffron robe is a symbol in Indian literature and Narayan uses this symbol to reveal a great deal about them and their art.

UNIT 2

Fundamental rights and duties

Fundamental Rights

1) Right to Equity: It provides social civil and economic justice. It has following forms:

a) Equity before law.

b) Right against discrimination; No discrimination can be there in entry to public places on any basis

c) Right to Equal opportunity: It should be provided in public employment

d) Abolition of untouchability:

e) Abolition of Titles.

2) Right to freedom:

i. Freedom of speech and expression.

ii. Assemble peacefully without arms.

iii. Form association or union.

iv. Move freely in the territory of India.

v. Reside and settle in any part of India.

vi. Practice any profession, occupation, trade and business.

vii. No person can be punished except violating laws.

viii. Cannot be punished twice for same offence.

ix. No self-incrimination.

x. Right to be informed the ground of arrest.

xi. Right to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours of arrest.

xii. Right to freedom within three months unless advised by Advisory board.

3) Right against exploitation: Prostitution and employing child below 14 years is prohibited to protect the health of citizen.

4) Right of Freedom of Religion:

5) Cultural and Educational rights: Any one is free to gain Education and be in any distinct. And no discrimination in grading aids for minority groups.

6) Rights to constitutional remedies: When the government encroaches on fundamental rights of the individuals can find remedies through the courts.

Fundamental Duties

1) To abide by the constitution respect its ideals and institutions, The National Flag, and the National Anthem.

2) To cherish and follow the noble ideas which inspired our national struggle from freedom.

3) To uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.

4) To defense the country and render national service when called.

5) To promote the spirit of brotherhood among all Indians and linguistic and religious diversities and to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.

6) To value and preserve the rich heritage of India.

7) Protect and improve national natural environment and to have compassion for living creatures.

8) To develop scientific temper, Humanism, and the spirit of inquiry and reform.

9) To safeguard public property and to abjure violence.

10) Toward excellence in all activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher level of endeavors and achievement.

11) To provide opportunity of education for the children between the age of 6 and 14.

Directive principles of state policy

Directive principles can be broadly classified in to 5 groups.

a) Directive principles related to social development.

i. Establishment of welfare states: The aims of all function and aim of government must be establishment of people’s social, economical and political justice.

ii. Rising in standard of living: The basic aim of government is to be better-off the public. Government must initiate and bring practice such policies.

iii. Protection of women and children: State must provide adequate facilities for this.

b) Directive principles related to economic development:

i. Provision of decent standard of living and alleviation of unemployment.

ii. Equal pay for equal work

iii. Equal distribution of wealth. No disparities.

iv. Equal distribution of factors of production. Must not be concentrated in few hands.

v. Protection if interest of workers

vi. Maintenance of health and cleanliness in factories.

vii. Right of workers to participate in management of industries.

viii. Development of agricultural sector.

c) Directive principles related to administrative development.

i. Integrated administrative system: A common law must apply in everywhere.

ii. Organizing Village Panchayats as unit of self government.

iii. Separating judiciary from executive

iv. .

d) Directive principles related to cultural development.

i. Free and compulsory education for children under age of 14

ii. Special education for people belonging to Scheduled Castes, Schedule Tribes and Other weaker sections and prohibition of their exploitation.

iii. Conservation of ancient monuments.

iv. Provide equal opportunities for all to develop their culture.

e) Directive principles related to international development:

State must make effort to promote international peace and amity and adopt policies which make peaceful relationship between other nations.