IRJMSH Volume Issue [Year 2014] online ISSN 2277 – 9809 A STUDY OF NARAYANA’S THE MAN EATER OF MALGUDI AS A MYTH RENU The proposed research project will undertake a study of Narayana’s novel particularly ―The Man Eater of Malgudi‖ Let’s take up firstly a detailed study of myth the word itself comes from the Greek ―Mythos‖ which originally meant ―speech‖ or ―discourse‖ but later came to mean ―fable‖ or ―legend‖ Myths are cosmogonist narratives, connected with the foundation or origin of the universe though often specifically in terms of a particular culture or region Given the connection to origins, the setting is typically premedical and characters are proto human or deific Myth can also be defined as narratives of a sacred nature, often connected with some ritual Myths are often fundamental or key narratives associates with religions The narratives are believed to be true from within the sacred and secular myths co-existing And most of Narayana’s novels could be analyzed in this way R K Narayana, full name Rasipuram Krishna Swami Iyer Narayana Swami, was an Indian writer best known for his works set in the fictional south Indian town of Malgudi He is one of three major Indian novelist, others beings Mulkraj Anand and Raja Rao The city of Malgudi was born out of the pen of R.K Narayana, considered to be the pioneer of Anglo-Indian As myths and spirituality are implicit in Hindu society, the world of Malgudi is full of mythical elements In the Man Eater of Malgudi there exists a deep mythical structure The novel can be considered as modern re-enactments of its respective underlying myths The novel recreates an old demon’s myth, the story of ash demon Bhasmasura and Shiva which is to be found in the Skanda Purana The overall aim here as been to unearth the close connections between the myths and use of Narayana makes of them in this novel The novel has Vasu as its central character a taxidermist by profession appears out of the blue at Nataraj’s press, ordering visiting cards intending to begin his career in Malgudi He learnt the art of stuffing animals from a master named Suleiman, but before that he learnt wrestling and killed the guru with deadly chop, in moment of uncontrollable fury Nataraj is owner of the small printing press He rents a room in his home to Vasu only to have it overtaken by Vasu’s life style, values and taxidermist profession Vasu takes over his attic as living –cum – working quarter for himself no mention of rent or permission to conduct taxidermy in it is made Even before we meet Vasu, we feel his impact by the silence that he causes amongst the regulars of Nataraj’s printing shop His first act is to violet the sanctity of Nataraj’s back room, a symbol for the inner sanctum of the temple.‖ It was like having a middle aged man eater in your office and home with the same uncertainties, possibilities and potentialities‖ (27) From the very beginning Vasu struck Nataraj as a man of abnormal features He had ―tanned face, large International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity www.irjmsh.com Page 350 IRJMSH Volume Issue [Year 2014] online ISSN 2277 – 9809 powerful eyes under thick eyebrows, and a large forehead with a shock of unkempt hair like a black halo‖ (13) In a very little time, Vasu has shown disdain for almost everything that Nataraj holds dear;’ the caste system; the path of non-violence; respect for one’s elders ;sanctity of the family and of chastity; and the sanctity of the life itself He even shows that he is not above killing something that is part of Nataraj’s family when he kills Natara’s cat The only thing left for him to insult is, Nataraj’s devotion to the Gods Vasu does so when he kills a tiger, a symbol of Shiva and a garuda, said to be the messenger of Vishnu When Vasu plans to kill the temple elephant, it amounts to a direct attempt on the life of God On being questioned about propriety in killing an eagle, held sacred by the Hindus ,Vasu replies flippantly ,‖I want to try and make Vishnu use his feet now and then ―(64).Vasu is no longer just a killer of animals who disturbs the existence of Nataraj, but a true demon who threatens to destroy Nataraj’s way of life As many demons have before, Vasu threatens to destroy the entire world Vasu forces Nataraj to take action against him The battle between Vasu and Nataraj is framed perfectly in the context of the myth The action that occurs in the novel bears many similarities to other myths that are either mentioned or eluded to, in particular the myth of Bhasmasura The structure of the story is the same as a myth, with the protagonist facing an unstoppable enemy who eventually meets his ends by his own hand In trying to squash a mosquito that had landed on his head, his incredible strength crushes not only the fly, but Vasu himself causing a fatal concussion The death of Vasu is compared to the death of demon Bhasmasura who is tricked into placing his hands on his head by Krishna (disguised as a dancer) and is scorched to death by his fatal touch Vasu’s death mirrors that of Bhasmasura in more than just that respect Vasu is like a Rakshasa in many ways His extraordinary strength and appearance are obvious indicators that Vasu’s is not a normal man Nataraj also describes Vasu as possessing a ―sixth sense‖ His killing of the sacred animals shows his disrespect for the gods is another feature of demons When Vasu ―kidnaps‖ Nataraj and leaves him stranded far from home, we can see a parallel between that event and the kidnapping of Sita by Ravana in the Ramayana He is also suspected to have poisoned Kumar, causing his illness In Vedas, illness is attributed to demons Sastri is the character who seems to link myth and reality He possesses ancient wisdom which seems to perfectly frame everything that is going on in the novel He provides a number of examples to support his observation He quotes from the Puranas such as the Ramayana in which the ten headed demon Ravanana, with unusual yogic powers and boon for never ending life, nevertheless met with end at the hands of Rama Then there is Mahisha, an asura with the boon of immortality and invincibility and an ability to create a demon in his own image with every drop of blood he shed was at last annihilated by the goddess Durga who sucked the blood from his body And finally Sastri draws the comparison between Vasu and the Rakshasas.he says,‖he shows all the definations of rakshasa‖ with his enormous strength, genius and no regard for man International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity www.irjmsh.com Page 351 IRJMSH Volume Issue [Year 2014] online ISSN 2277 – 9809 or God.Sastri continues that like a demon, Vasu is invincible and beyond law ―But sooner or later something or the other will destroy him ―(96) He is the one who puts Vasu’s death (and the death of all demons) into perspective by saying ―……… every demon carries within him, unknown himself, a tiny seed of self destruction‖ (242) Sastri seems to predict the astrological cataclysms that will occur due to the accepting of Jupiter (105).He says ―…… if a fly settle on your nose at a crucial moment and annoys you, you may treat it as an astrological setback worked off ― This does not appear to be something cataclysmic, but the mosquito which lands on Vasu’s head at an inopportune moment has a very large impact on the outcome of the story Narayana applies the mythological story to underline the distinction between good and evil The figure of Rangi is a very interesting one she is a temple prostitute, and in being a woman of the temple, she is technically married to the god of the temple, who is in this case Krishna Yet her name means Krishna itself, and she plays the role of Krishna in the death of Vasu she also makes a very important comment when she says ―sir, I am only a public woman, following what is my dharma,‖ it is said that if a prostitute performs her dharma scrupulously, then she acquired great powers This is illustrated by the story of the prostitute who makes the river Ganges flow upstream because of the powers she received by following her dharma This gives us a new way of looking at the death of Vasu Nataraj appears to be one who follows the path of devotion He shows his devotion through his ritual bathing and prayer to the sun the mild mannered Nataraj was brought uo in a house hold where to kill a fly is regarded as a sin he is rather stunned when he first time he saw an eighteen –inch head of a tiger in the back seat of Vasu’s jeep He even sheds blood for Kumar when Nataraj corners Vasu about his nefarious plans Vasu replies nonchalantly,‖ has it occurred to you how much more an elephant is worth dead?—I can make ten thousand out of the parts of this elephant ―(172).having lost hope of rescued the elephant, Nataraj surrenders to Vishnu, who rescued Gajendra the elephant king from the clutches of a killer crocodile He cries out involuntarily O‖ Vishnu! - save our elephant and save all the innocent men and women‖ (183) However, Nataraj’s devotion on several occasions seems questionable On the day that Sastri performs his Satyanarayana’s puja, Nataraj does nothing He is also taken in by Vasu’s talk of science, all these show that Nataraj is not truly devoted to the god, although he appears to be at first In The Man Eater of Malgudi, myth highlights the deeper meaning in the society of Malgudi The use of tales from the Hindu mythology, the teaching of the Bhagavadgita, and the austere religious practices and beliefs there ordained add strength to the fictional art of R.K.Narayana Each reference gives an aspect of the story a new dimension by outing it against the framework of the myth The Malgudi portrayed in the book is taken to a new level of meaning by the many mythical references and allusions made References: International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity www.irjmsh.com Page 352 IRJMSH Volume Issue [Year 2014] online ISSN 2277 – 9809 Narayan, R.K., the Man Eater of Malgudi Mysore,Indian Thought Publication,1990 Narayan, R.K The Man Eater of Malgudi.London, Penguin Books, 1961 A Critical study of the works of R.K.Narayan,Delhi, Classical publishing co., 1993 Radhakrishana,S The Bhagavadgita London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd.1963 Sinha, U.P Pattern of Myths and Reality, a study in R.K.Narayan’s novels International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity www.irjmsh.com Page 353 ... Vasu? ?s is not a normal man Nataraj also describes Vasu as possessing a ―sixth sense‖ His killing of the sacred animals shows his disrespect for the gods is another feature of demons When Vasu... his fatal touch Vasu? ?s death mirrors that of Bhasmasura in more than just that respect Vasu is like a Rakshasa in many ways His extraordinary strength and appearance are obvious indicators that... Rakshasas.he says,‖he shows all the definations of rakshasa‖ with his enormous strength, genius and no regard for man International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity www.irjmsh.com