3. Full Name Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer
Narayanaswami
Born 10 October 1906
Died 13 May 2001
Notable award Padma Vibhushan,
Sahitya Akademi Award
AC Benson Medal
4. Raju is a railway guide who becomes fall love with Rosie, a neglected wife
of Marco. Rosie has a passion for dancing which Marco doesn't approve
of. Rosie, encouraged by Raju, decides to follow her dreams and walks out
on her husband. Raju becomes her stage manager and soon with the help of
Raju's marketing tactics, Rosie becomes a successful dancer. The
relationship between Raju and Rosie is strained.
TheStoryLine
Raju inadvertently gets involved in a case of forgery and gets a two year
sentence.
On his release from prison, Raju stops to rest near an abandoned temple,
where a villager named Velan mistakes him for a holy man. Raju is content
with the arrangement, until a drought occurs, and, to save face, he has to
take up a 12-day fast. He continues to fast until he collapses. His legs sag
down as he feels that the rain is falling in the hills. The ending of the novel
leaves unanswered the question of whether he dies, or whether the drought
has really ended.
5. Raju, the central character.
Raju is in a sense a double
character.
As a tour guide and lover, he is
impulsive, unprincipled, and
self-indulgent.
After his imprisonment, and
after his transformation as a
holy man, he is careful,
thoughtful, and self-disciplined.
Leading
Characters
6. Rosie is the another central
character. Rosie is an
attractive young wife of
'Marco'. Her husband is like
God to her. She is very
passionate about dancing.
She is religious by nature as
she believes in Goddess
Saraswati Passionate Nature.
She is a true lover.
7. A central theme of the novel
is the transformation of Raju
from his role as a tour guide
to that of a spiritual guide.
The title of the novel, The
Guide, has a double meaning,
and Raju is in a sense a
double character.
The novel also tells two
stories, that of Raju’s
relationship with Rosie as
tour guide and that of Raju’s
relationship with the villagers
as a holy man. Raju is a
sympathetic character
throughout the novel.
Personal Opinion
