Editing R. K. Narayan (section)

===Malgudi===
{{main|Malgudi}}

Malgudi is a fictional fully urban town in southern India, conjured by Narayan.{{Sfn|Khatri|2008|p=10}} He created the town in September 1930, on [[Vijayadashami]], an auspicious day to start new efforts and thus chosen for him by his grandfather.{{Sfn|Parija|2001|p=60}} As he mentioned in a later interview to his biographers Susan and N. Ram, in his mind, he first saw a railway station, and slowly the name ''Malgudi'' came to him.{{Sfn|Prasad|2003|p=40}} The fictional town of Malgudi was first introduced in ''Swami and Friends''.

The town was created with an impeccable historical record, dating to the [[Ramayana]] days when it was noted that [[Lord Rama]] passed through; it was also said that the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] visited the town during his travels.{{Sfn|Khatri|2008|p=168}} While Narayan never provided strict physical constraints for the town, he allowed it to form shape with events in various stories, becoming a reference point for the future.{{Sfn|Walsh|1982|p=30}} [[James Mathias Fennelly|Dr James M. Fennelly]], a scholar of Narayan's works, created a map of Malgudi based on the fictional descriptors of the town from the many books and stories.<ref name="Narayan days - Lahiri" />

Malgudi evolved with the changing political landscape of India. In the 1980s, when the nationalistic fervor in India dictated the changing of British names of towns and localities and removal of British landmarks, Malgudi's mayor and city council removed the long-standing statue of Frederick Lawley, one of Malgudi's early residents. However, when the Historical Societies showed proof that Lawley was strong in his support of the [[Indian independence movement]], the council was forced to undo all their earlier actions.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/59604444.html?dids=59604444:59604444&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+11%2C+1994&author=Judith+Freeman&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=%60May+You+Always+Wear+Red%27+Insights+into+the+nuances+of+Indian+culture+GRANDMOTHER%27S+TALE+And+Other+Stories%2C+By+R.K.+Narayan+%28Viking%3A+%2423.95%3B+320+pp.%29&pqatl=google|title=May You Always Wear Red' Insights into the nuances of Indian culture|last=Freeman|first=Judith|date=11 December 1994|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=14 October 2009}}{{dead link|date=July 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> A good comparison to Malgudi, a place that Greene characterised as "more familiar than [[Battersea]] or [[Euston Road]]", is Faulkner's [[Yoknapatawpha County]].<ref name="RKN 1906-2001"/> Also, like Faulkner's, when one looks at Narayan's works, the town gets a better definition through the many different novels and stories.{{Sfn|Sanga|2003|pp=194–195}}