The Man-eater of Malgudi revolves around Nataraj, a mild-mannered owner of a small printing press, who leads a contented life with his circle of friends: a poet, a journalist, and Sastri, his assistant. One day, Vasu, a pugnacious taxidermist, moves into Nataraj's house, and soon begins to encroach on his life, scaring away his friends and customers. Nataraj is intimidated by Vasu, but when the taxidermist covets the beloved temple elephant to add to his collection of stuffed hyenas, tigers and pythons, Nataraj rises to the occasion.

This is the story of Nataraj, who earns his living as a printer in the little world of Malgudi, an imaginary town in South India. Nataraj and his close friends, a poet and a journalist, find their congenia l days disturbed when Vasu, a powerful taxidermist, moves in with his stuffed hyenas and pythons, and brings his dancing-women up the printer's private stairs. When Vasu, in search of larger game, threatens the life of a temple elephant that Natara j has befriended, complications ensue that are both laughable and tragic.

A venerable tiger, old and toothless now, looks back over his life from cubhood and early days roaming wild in the Indian jungle. Trapped into a miserable circus career as 'Raja the magnificent', he is then sold into films (co-starring with a beefy Tarzan in a leopard skin) until, finding the human world too brutish and bewildering, he makes a dramatic bid for freedom. R.K. Narayan's story combines Hindu mysticism with ripe Malgudi comedy, viewing human absurdities through the eyes of a wild animal and revealing how, quite unexpectedly, Raja finds sweet companionship and peace.

‘The best of R.K. Narayan’s enchanting novels’—The New Yorker Raju, a corrupt tourist guide, together with his lover, the dancer Rosie, leads a prosperous life before he is thrown into prison. After release he rests on the steps of an abandoned temple when a peasant passing by mistakes him for a holy man. Slowly, almost reluctantly, he begins to play the part, acting as a spiritual guide to the village community. Raju’s holiness is put to the test when a drought strikes the village, and he is asked to fast for twelve days to summon the rains. Set in Narayan’s fictional town, Malgudi, The Guide is the greatest of his comedies of self-deception. ‘A brilliant accomplishment … Narayan is the compassionate man who can write of human life as comedy’—The New York Times Book Review ‘Narayan is such a natural writer, so true to his experience and emotions’—V.S. Naipaul

Two comic gems from the father of modern Indian fiction- available in one volume for the first time These two novels show R. K. Narayan at his best, offering enchanting tales of human absurdity that are also skillfully woven parables infused with Hindu mysticism. A Tiger for Malgudi is told from the point of view of the tiger Raja, now old and toothless, who looks back on his life in the circus and in films, and on his dramatic bid to escape the brutish human world in a quest for freedom. The Man-Eater of Malgudi is the story of Nataraj, a mild-mannered printer who stands up to Vasu, a pugnacious taxidermist, when Vasu begins to covet the beloved temple elephant for his collection. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

This Is R.K. Narayan S Classic Chronicle Of The Adventures Of A Boy Named Swami, And His Friends Rajam And Mani, In A Sleepy And Picturesque South Indian Town Called Malgudi. Swami S Days Are Full Of Action-When He Is Not Creating A Ruckus In The Classroom Or Preparing In His Inimitable Way For Exams, He S Trying To Acquire A Hoop From The Coachman S Son To Run Down The Malgudi Streets, Playing Tricks On His Grandmother, Or Stoning The School Windows, Inspired By A Swadeshi Demonstration. But The Greatest Feat Of Swami And His Friends Lies In Putting Together A Cricket Team For The Mcc (The Malgudi Cricket Club) And Challenging The Neighbouring Young Men S Union To A Match. Just Before The Match, However, Things Go Horribly, Horribly Wrong, And Swami Has No Option But To Run Away From Home, Wanting Never To Return To Malgudi Again . . . Malgudi Schooldays Is A Brilliantly Evocative And Delightfully Funny Account Of The Growing-Up Years From One Of The Greatest English Language Writers Of Our Time. Includes A Slightly Abridged Version Of The Novel Swami And Friends Along With Two Other Swami Stories, Available Together For The First Time Features Fifteen Black-And-White Illustrations By R.K. Laxman Attractive Design The First In A Series Of Indian Literature Classics On The Puffin List