For want of a title... Review on Mr. Sampath--the Printer of Malgudi - R K Narayan

“There are writers – Tolstoy and Henry James to name two- whom we hold in awe, writers - Turgenev and Chekhov – for whom we hold a personal affection, other writers whom we respect – Conrad for example- but who hold us at a long arm’s length with their courtly foreign grace. Narayan (whom I don’t hesitate to name in such a context) more than any of them wakes in me a spring of gratitude, for he has offered me a second home. Without him I would never have known what it is like to be Indian.” – Graham Greene.

Long as the italicized quote is, the point is, as any Narayan fan will tell you, indisputable. While The Guide remains a more mature novel in its darker complexities, Narayan’s hilarious, rib tickling wryness hits you better in Mr. Sampath – The printer of Malgudi. Essentially Indian in its settings, manifold in its structures and simple in its narrative structure, Mr. Sampath is another offering that gives us a delightful world that is frighteningly our own.

Mr. Sampath is the new hero, though many critics prefer to call him the Narayanesque hero evolved. Sitting in his half-hidden, obscure office in the mazes of Malgudi, Sampath becomes the new entrepreneur of Malgudi, delving deep into the mysterious world of publishing and running a newspaper – The Banner. The Banner indeed, was functional due to the efforts of only two inhabitants of Malgudi Mr. Sampath, who prints it and Srinivas – the bank clerk, who edits it. They work night and day to satisfy the increasing demands of their clamoring public.

The unlikely relationship blossoms into a strange façade of a strong friendship where Srinivas – the literary gets an orientation into the strange and bizarre, fast paced, unpredictable world of Sampath. The narrator of the story, Srinivas adopts the cynical view that Narayan reserves for the central consciousness of his novels. In moments of relaxation, Srinivas – the quintessential middle class Indian, occupies his mind puzzling over the futility of human existence, while Mr. sampath good-naturedly whoulder all the financial business.

Then just when you start enjoying the mundane humbdrum atmosphere of this miraculously running printing press, and familiarize yourself with the strange journey that The Banner takes everyday towards its local readers, the press suddenly runs out of print. The Banner is folded and hung up to dry – perhaps for ever.

While Srininvas flounders under the sudden death of his editorial character, Mr. Sampath, never a character to be foiled for long, becomes involved with Sunrise Productions and dives with professional ease, into the new pools of movie production. Srinivas is gently pulled into the whole show as the expert script writer. It is a sudden shift from one glamorous field to another and the behind-the-scene scenes, show Narayan’s bitter experience in both these areas.

Srinivas the amateur script writer and Sampath the ignorant movie producer leads towards a designed culmination of chaos in the process of film making. The glamorous life goes to the head of Mr. Sampath and confusion becomes the name of the game. What happens next? How does it all end? Is there a possible end to the triangles of relationships which include power, glamour, lust, loyalty, love and simple greed? These are questions that Narayan refuses to answer. Srinivas, as the author’s mouthpiece “raised his hand, flourished a final farewell, and set his face homeward.” And the reader cant do much else.

However, the novel is worth a read for the sheer genius, tenacity and perspicuity of Naryan’s genius. For ardent Narayan fans, the development of Malgudi from its “Man-eater” days to the current day hullabulla town will be a ride worth the effort. For the new readers, it will be a charming journey through words, phrases and follies which are very much our own. Narayan tells the story with great enjoyment, that spills over in the picturization of the different episodic farces that mark the novel.

In the proverbial nutshell, it is a book that u can either not miss or not miss. No options. Get it as fast as possible.