A Tiger for Malgudi is a 1983 novel by R. K. Narayan told by a tiger in the first person. Deeply moving is the attachment of the tiger to the monk and the monk’s care for the tiger.
R. K. Narayan’s magnificent new novel is about a tiger possessed of the soul of an enlightened human being who tells us the story of his life.
Raja leaves his home in the Mempi hills only to find he is captured and made to perform in a circus and on a film set. Eventually he escapes, only to be recaptured – but this time voluntarily – by a guru. The two of them leave Malgudi and return to the hills where they pass their days in sweet philosophical discourse until old age overtakes Raja and he is forced to give up his freedom for ever.
A haunting tale, A Tiger For Malgudi uniquely combines the elusive timeless quality of Hindu legend with the comic vision of Narayan’s earlier Malgudi novels. Everyone, young and old, will enjoy the very simplicity of this compelling fable, but some will want to explore with Raja the pathway to true enlightenment.
