1) The document summarizes a chapter from R.K. Narayan's novel "Under the Banyan Tree" titled "At the Portal". It describes a mother squirrel trying to get her baby squirrel, who is only 10 days old, through a portal in a university wall to reach their home. 2) The baby squirrel is unable to jump high enough to reach the portal, while the mother can easily jump through. After multiple failed attempts, the mother grows impatient and leaves the baby squirrel behind, jumping through the portal alone. 3) The baby squirrel is left crying at the base of the wall as night falls and dangers increase. R.K. Narayan considers complaining

1. RNB GLOBAL UNIVERSITY
BCA 1st SEMESTER
ABILITY & SKILL ENHANCEMENT
SUBMITTED TO : -
Ms. Shalini Joshi
SUBMITTED BY : -
Tanishq Soni
1
R.K Narayan - UNDER THE BANYAN TREE
( Chapter- At the portal )

2. INTRODUCTION
1.) Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanswami,(R.K. Narayan)
R.K. Narayan, was born in Madras on October 10, 1906.
2.) His father, an educator, who travelled frequently, and his
mother was ill most of the time.
3.) Narayan was raised in Madras by his maternal grandmother.
He studied for eight years in Christian Mission School.
4.) Narayan moved to Mysore to live with his family when his
father was transferred to the Maharajah's Collegiate High
School.
2

3. 31.) After completing high school, Narayan failed the
university entrance examination.
2.) Spent a year at home reading and writing.
3.) He subsequently passed the examination in 1926 and
joined Maharaja College of Mysore. It took Narayan
four years to obtain his Bachelor's degree.
4.) Taking a Master's degree (M.A.) killed his interest in
literature, he had a job as a school teacher. However,
he quit in protest when the headmaster of the school
asked him to substitute for the physical training
master.
5.) In 1933, he got married to Rajam, who lived near his
sister's house.

4. 4
BEGINNING OF WRITING
1.) That experience made Narayan realize that the
only career for him was in writing, and he
decided to stay at home and write novels.
2.) Narayan broke through with the help of his
mentor and friend, Graham Greene, Narayan
had sent the manuscript of ”Swami and Friends”
which was published in 1935.
3.) The book was semi-autobiography and built
upon many incidents from his own childhood.

5. 5
The turning point
1.) Narayan's second novel, Bachelor of Arts (1937),
marked the beginning of his reputation in England.
2.) Rajam died of typhoid in 1939.Her death affected
Narayan deeply and he remained depressed for a
long time, he was also concerned for their daughter
Hema, who was only three years old.
3.) Brought about a significant change in his life
and was the inspiration behind his next novel, The
English Teacher.

6. His Books
1.) The Dark Room (1938),
2.) The English Teacher (1945),
3.) Mr. Sampath (1948),
4.) Waiting for the Mahatma (1955),
5.) The Guide (1958),
6.) The Man-eater of Malgudi (1961),
7.) The Vendor of Sweets (1967),
8.) Malgudi Days (1982),
9.) And The Grandmother's Tale (1993) established Narayan's
reputation.
6

7. Achievements
1.) He won the National prize of the Indian Literacy Academy.
2.) In 1965 he won the National Association of Independent Schools award.
3.) He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature multiple times, but never won
the any.
4.) R.K. Narayan won numerous awards and honors for his works. These include:
-> Sahitya Academic Award for The Guide in 1958.
-> Padma Bhushan in 1964.
-> AC Benson Medal by the Royal Society of Literature in 1980.
8.) R.K. Narayan was elected an honorary member of the American Academy and
Institute of Arts and Letters in 1982.
9.) He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1989.
7

8. A year before his death,
in 2001, he was awarded India's second-highest civilian
honour, the Padma Vibhushan.
He passed away on May 13,2001
8

9. 9
( Chapter- At the portal )

10. 10
This chapter (At The Portal) is a story of two squirrels. One a mother and other one’s a ten day old baby
squirrel who is out for second time.
Once in a evening he had a committee meeting to go to , but remain unattempt because of those two
squirrels who were going back to their home which was on the other side of the university wall , probably a
niche in the veranda roof of the registrar’s office. The squirrel home was to be reached through a decorative
porthole in the wall which was at the height of two feet from surface. The problem was that the mother
could jump right from the road and pass through while the youngster could not do anything more than run
to the wall and look up at the hole.

11. 11
The mother hopped up and gone other side presuming that she is being followed by her baby. The baby squirrel did
no more than standing beside the wall and waited for a miracle to happen and take him to other side. After some time
mother come and said ”still there !” baby said “ I can’t jump”, Mother comes murmured and motivates to jump and
jumped off that hole and run out of sight again. This happened dozens of time then she cried-”do you want to stay
out tonight ?” “I can’t help it” he replied. Dusk was falling, an owl was hooting somewhere, birds wheeling, scene
becoming non safe. Dogs barking, school youngsters returning back. The baby asked if you will carry him like before.
She said “this day is not that day! And if he fits in her jaws , she would not wait for your suggestion“.

12. 12
Now, mother asked the last time and baby replied “I can’t jump, I am not coming”. Then the mother didn’t wait to
hear the full sentence. She quietly turn around and jumped to the other side leaving her baby.
Then also he did several
attempts to reach to the hole, but failed. After being failed, he quietly run to the nearest tree and climb to top branch
& call his mother but she didn’t listen.
After seeing this situation R.K Narayan thought of complaining to authorities of that university to reduce
the height of portholes.

13. 13
THANK YOU