MouthShut.com Would Like to Send You Push Notifications. Notification may includes alerts, activities & updates.

OTP Verification

Enter 4-digit code
For Business
MouthShut Logo
Upload Photo

MouthShut Score

69%
3.63 

Readability:

Story:

×

Upload your product photo

Supported file formats : jpg, png, and jpeg

Address



Contact Number

Cancel

I feel this review is:

Fake
Genuine

To justify genuineness of your review kindly attach purchase proof
No File Selected

Hum bane, tum bane, ek duje ke liye..
Aug 01, 2012 01:29 AM 34920 Views

Readability:

Story:

To avoid monotony in reading, I stopped at R K Narayan’s list and after reading a few synopsis, ordered ‘The English Teacher’. Moreover, I was interested to read him for the first time. I was soon alarmed when I did some more research on net to find out that this is the third part of triology by RKN after ‘Swami and friends’ and ‘The bachelor of Arts’. The book cover didn’t mention that and I was relieved that this book serves stand alone and is not mandatorily part of any series.


R K Narayan! A prized discovery! He is widely read author known for his ingenuous writings. He is also known for successfully and innovatively instituting the fictional town ‘Malgudi’ which I have very fond memories of.


PLOT


Krishna, is spending his married days in a College hostel, living like cattle, far from marital bliss until one afternoon he receives a letter from his father wishing him to settle a home in Malgudi with his wife and child. What follows next is a series of light hearted chatter about Krishna adapting to the domestic responsibility which convert him into a man (from cattle!). One day, when Krishna and Susila go out to look for a house, Susila falls ill and dies after a spell of typhoid. Krishna’s life is deserted, but he has to keep solace in his bundle of joy, Leela, his daughter. In the next few months he learns and executes household chores, takes charge of child and goes out to college until one day he receives a letter from his wife Susila!!!


Krishna embarks on a journey to attain nirvana to bridge with the spirit of his wife Susila, as per her wish in the letter and future correspondences. Parallel to this the child has grown up enough and starts attending school. The school Headmaster is a man of strong will and has dedicated his whole life for the education of small children. His philosophy attracts Krishna and it’s the incidents in Schoolmaster’s life which help Krishna turn around and attain Nirvana, which he had been trying to achieve since long time.


Finally, the child is sent to the grandparents and Krishna resigns from his job as the English teacher. He takes up work in kindergarten and succeeds in uniting with his ‘soul mate’. How? Find out!


Apart from Krishna, Susila and Leela, another significant character is Leela’s schoolmaster. He is a revolutionary educationist who wants his pupils to be happy in life. His wife doesn’t respect him and discard his principles and his children live miserably due to this domestic discord. One day, he decides to leave his family for good to fulfil his dream. Its his way of life which helps Krishna in his journey.


The high points: twice while reading this otherwise effortless book, comes two small accounts which are treat for your literary buds.


First, the scene where Susila has died and Krishna is sitting all night alongside her corpse and then next day the journey to cremation ground and back is presented in a first class narrative, profoundly touching and flamboyant. It’s noticeable that RKN was capable of composing ornate literature but chose to be simple for good.


Secondly, in the last chapter, the narrative is dynamic, first with the farewell party scene in college where his colleagues and students are biding Krishna bye bye, and second when he reaches home and is into the state of peace at last.


The supernatural plot in the story is well constituted and angelic. It doesn’t look ‘forced’ because it is well justified and aesthetic. The happenings in Krishna’s life play important role in his journey from a novice learner to a successful master of this science. It’s a joy to read through his experiences which make him a better human being.


To simply put, narration is ordinary but nonetheless ecstatic. The characters are well sculptured and blend in the story smoothly. It is as lucid for a fifth standard student to comprehend but as intricate for an adult to conclude.


Another delight is that the size of the book is just apt. Only 184 pages make it a fast, easy and enjoyable read with no frills & no insignificant blah blah.


My rating. 3


My recommendation. For RKN regulars, this is a must. For those who wish to start, I would say that this is not the first RKN you should read. You may rather read ‘The financial expert’ (I haven’t read but heard a lot about it. I was confused b/w these two when I finally ordered ‘The English teacher) as his first. And then read this one later.


.


Please rate and comment


Anshuman Maini


Upload Photo

Upload Photos


Upload photo files with .jpg, .png and .gif extensions. Image size per photo cannot exceed 10 MB


Comment on this review

Read All Reviews

YOUR RATING ON

English Teacher, The - R K Narayan
1
2
3
4
5
X