Postcolonial Responsibility / Nationalism as Reflected in R K Narayan's Waiting for the Mahatma
R. K. Narayan is one of the postcolonial writers of India who are found to project the nation building attitude in their writings. His Waiting for the Mahatma , set in the surroundings of the writer’s created village Malgudi, is woven against the unconventional backdrop of the freedom movement. But in spite of using directly the national experience as the central theme as did Raja Rao, Narayan puts it in the background giving preference to the personal narrative. Krishna Mohan Pandey rightly observes Rao depicts Gandhi’s impact on community but Nrayan focuses on individuals. Again, motivated by the national feelings, he is conscious to present the after independence situation of the country. However, this consciousness make many to note that “R. K. Narayan's novel Waiting for the Mahatma (1955) reflects a certain ambivalence towards the freedom movement.” (Aikant) In Waiti...