R.K. Narayan had heard about the reports of a hermit, who arrived at the Kumbha -Mela, with a tiger as his companion. The animal moved about freely in the midst of a huge crowd without even scaring or hurting anyone. This gave him the idea of writing a novel on the subject of a tiger. His determination was strengthened when he heard similar stories about friendship between the tigers and human beings. This theme also got further imprinted on his mind when he came across a four inch long picture of tiger. Pleading, "I would love to get into a book." To this his response was, "Surely you will get into my book, but the goodness of the book itself I cannot guarantee."
Man, according to Narayan, has been mostly the focus of fictional creations. Very rarely do we realize other creations too have such emotions as ego, values, outlook and the ability to communicate although they are not capable of audible speech.
In response to a question, from a journalist as to why only a tiger is the subject of his novel and not a mouse, his answer was, "So that the chief character may not be trampled upon or lost sight of in a hole".
The author's story begins with an aged tiger lying in its cage and recollecting its past beginning with its cub hood and wild age in the jungle and later in captivity as a circus star. Later it acquires freedom after running away from the clutches of a film-shooting crew and wanders in the town. The fear-stricken people try to get it shot but an ascetic appears on the scene and adopts it as a companion.
Who is he? Where is he from? are questions that trouble people when they see him. But whenever he is asked, ``Who are you?" he just says, "What I am trying to find out".
In the story of R.K. Narayan Tiger For Malgudi, the author employs his powers to save the tiger and transform it inwardly working on the idea that deep within, at the core, all beings are the same, in spite of differing appearances and categories.
This is the author's preface to the novel. Also the whole story is narrated from the point of view of the tiger. The novel revolves around the life of a tiger which covers his life span from a beast to an ascetic animal who can understand human talks and follow spirituality. The novel opens with the remembering of the past by the tiger when he is in his old age and is living in a cage of a zoo. The narrator in the novel is the tiger himself. In the beginning of his life he appears to be a vulnerable creature when his mother deserts him suddenly. The challenges and taunts of other animals change him into the strongest and brutal animal soon. He has to enter the village to search for his captivated family. He is caught by the Captain. He brings the tiger to the Circus. One day the tiger is hired by a filmmaker named Madan to play a role in the film. The Captain forces him with cruelty to stand on hind legs but feeling extremely tortured he kills the Captain and runs away. He takes shelter in a school where a hermit saves him and takes him along to the forest. In the company of the pious hermit, the tiger too follows the spiritual path for salvation. The novel tells about the simplicity of the animal world and the complexity which arises due to human greed and wrath.
The major theme of the novel is non-violence and sympathy for others. The world can be won by love and affection while cruelty and wrath can destroy all. No creature is safe with hatred. The regeneration takes place in everyone's life, one only has to recognize its moments or flashes of sudden illumination of wisdom. Once a person is on the path of love and affection for all the animals and human beings, his regeneration starts automatically. The text follows the Gandhian philosophy of life.
Tiger is the central character of the text. He represents the animal world in a new perspective. He says that despite a refined language for communication. They have emotions as well as intelligence which make them either friends or enemies of humans as per the behaviour of the human beings towards them. The tiger completes a life cycle of different stages with different people. In the beginning he is a beast. Later on when he is caught by the Captain, he becomes a slave in the circus. At last he becomes a companion of the Master which leads him to the path of regeneration. The text revolves around the tiger. Each stage of the life of the tiger throws a light on his life and how he evolves and develops a spiritual and philosophical understanding by the time the novel ends.
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