In Search of Identity: R.K.Narayan's the Guide

In Search of Identity: R.K.Narayan`s The Guide.

"What I really lack is to be clear in my mind what I am to do, not what I am to know, except in so far as certain knowledge must precede every action. The thing is to understand myself, to see what God really wishes me to do: the thing is to find a truth which is true for me, to find the idea for which I can live and die. ... I certainly do not deny that I still recognize an imperative of knowledge and that through it one can work upon men, but it must be taken up into my life, and that is what I now recognize as the most important thing".

--Søren Kierkegaard, Letter to Peter Wilhelm Lund dated August 31, 1835.

R.K.Narayan`s The Guide may simply appear as a novel dealing with Raju`s evolution from Railway Raju to 'The Mahatma,' yet the novel may well be interpreted from the existentialist perspective; since in the characters of Raju, Rosie and Marco we see a search for identity which they have gained in their own ways. Narayan`s other novels like The Bachelor of arts, The English teacher and Waiting for Mahatma a yearning for identity may be traced. The central theme of the novel is the transformation of Raju from a middle class tourist guide to a 'saint.' The title of the novel has double meaning as guide may mean railway guide as well as a spiritual guide. Not only Raju but all the three major characters in the text undergo significant transformation which may be defined as a search for identity.

The novel opens with an encounter between Raju and an innocuous villager(Velan) of Mangal; a strange meeting between an urban, accustomed to the glitters and deception of a city life and a simple man striving to find a divine solution to solve certain emerging crisis in life, and traces in Raju his desired 'Mahatma.'

"Raju liked this rambling talk. He had been all alone in this place for over a day. It was good to hear the human voice again. After this the villager resumed the study of his face with intense respect. And Raju stroked his chin thoughtfully to make sure that an apostolic beard had not suddenly grown there."

The Guide, Chapter One, Page: 6, Indian Thought Publication.

Raju`s words did miracle for Velan`s sister and Velan`s faith is his 'Mahatma' grew to be almost unshakable. Raju involuntarily sails into the new course of his life initially for sustenance, though later his hitherto selfish struggle gains selflessness as he removes the dusk of 'Maya' or illusion.

Raju's career is rather complicated and takes meandering turns. He begins his adult life as a guide to tourists. Raju believes in appearances like a perfect showman.

"As soon as a tourist arrived, I observed how he dealt with the baggage, whether he engaged apoeter at all or preferred to hook a finger to each piece. I had to note all this within a split second, and then, outside, whether he walked to the hotel or called a taxi or haggled with one-horse jutka".

The Guide, Chapter Five, Page: 61, Indian