R. K. Narayans fiction reflects the Indian traditions and culture, especially traditions of South India.

The novelists locale is Malgudi, an imaginary town somewhere in South India. Traditional concepts of typical Tamil rahmin families, myths, status of !indu gods and goddesses are evident in R. K. Narayans novels. The main characters are lin"ed to these traditions. There are occasional glimpses of other Tamil cultural values, social norms, orthodo#ies and superstitions, which are all well protected. The readers may find Malgudi lin"ed $etween traditional and modern era. esides conserving the traditions of South Indian heritage, there are also records of latest advancements and new visions in the created world of R. K. Narayan.

Key %ords& R.K. Narayan, Malgudi, Socio'culture, Tamil

(anguard of Indian %riting in )nglish

R. K. Narayans life spanned the twentieth century, which meant that he $elonged $oth to the old world and the new. *uring the time of his $irth the ritish Ra+ was firmly in place and, in his later years, a totally free and independent nation of India was $orn and flourishing.

The ritish presence in India had $rought with it a large civil service, an educational system, and railways , all of these institutions the people of the su$continent em$raced with enthusiasm. ut it had also $rought with it a language as well as a literature which that language created. These also proved to $e a very productive legacy.

The ritish $rought )nglish to India and Indians clothed it with a literary tradition, which continues to delight and enrich us to this day. R. K. Narayan was one of the chief pillars of this Indian'coined tradition within literature that used )nglish as the medium. -ontemporary writers such as (i"ram Seth, Rohinton Mistry, or .nita *esai, whose novels have given such pleasure to readers in )urope and North .merica, stand rooted in a tradition which R. K. Narayan, as one of the early Indian novelists to write in )nglish, did a great deal to esta$lish. .li /01234 did the stylistic analysis of Narayans )nglish in The 5uide, focusing on the com$ination of ironic comment and comic manner. !e found Indianism in the style of writing. There was a fusion of )nglish syntactic patterns and Tamil speech rhythm, compounding to give an impression of Indian culture.

Nature of the Socio'cultural -onte#ts in R. K. Narayans Novels

Through his novels R. K. Narayan portrayed Indian society and culture as he viewed them. %ithin the Indian society, his primary focus was on the Tamil and South Indian !indu society. 6or demonstrating the socio'cultural pattern in the Tamil community /especially the Tamil rahmin community4, he created the world of Tamil atmosphere $y giving Tamil and other familiar South Indian names to his characters, li"e Swami, 7urohit, (eena, 7oo+a, Malathi, Ra+u, Ra+am, 7andit, Natara+, Sastri, 8a"shmi, Saraswathi, etc. The other names are Mani, (asu, Sampath, Krishnan, Susila, etc. These names show that his focus was especially on !indu way of life.

Narayans novels have heroes li"e Swami, -handran, Krishnan, Sampath, Margayya, Ra+u and 9agan and these are typically Indian !indu names. The novels assume and reveals the notions, feelings, ta$oos and morals of Indian culture, mostly as portrayed through the rahmin community.

Side $y Side& The (ernacular %orld and the %orld of Modernity

Killam /01:34 emphasi;ed that the characters of Narayan live partly in a vernacular world of !indu tradition and partly in modernity e#periencing change through western influences.

Socio'cultural pattern of Tamil community is reflected in the nature, characters, ha$its, situations and events in Narayans novels. Narayans characters reveal Indian traditions and morals. Some of his characters, even with foreign names, are Indian in their spirit. <r it may $e correct to say that they have adapted themselves in the Indian conte#t.

6or e#ample, 5race, an .merican'Korean girl introduced to $e daughter'in'law of the hero, 9agan of The (endor of Sweets /Narayan, =>>>4, was shown doing all the household wor" including sweeping, coo"ing food, etc. She decorates the floor with flower and colour for the sa"e of pu+a in Indian style. She was even fond of wearing sarees. It is portrayed that she loved the Indian traditions and culture even when she was in .merica.

-onflict of .ttitudes and 8oyalties

Swami and 6riends, nota$le for its highly reada$le prose and understated humour, presents, among other things, the conflict $etween cultures& the Indian and the ritish.