R. K. Narayan was an Indian writer and novelist renowned for his work set in the fictional South Indian town of Malgudi. He emerged as a leading author of early Indian literature in English alongside Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao.

Narayan's mentor and friend, Graham Greene, played a pivotal role in securing publishers for Narayan's initial works, including the semi-autobiographical trilogy: Swami and Friends, The Bachelor of Arts, and The English Teacher. His writings highlight the social context and everyday life of his characters, earning him comparisons to William Faulkner, who crafted a similar fictional setting and explored ordinary life with humor and compassion. Narayan's short stories have also been likened to those of Guy de Maupassant for their narrative density.

Throughout a career spanning over sixty years, Narayan garnered numerous awards and honors, including the AC Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature, the Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan—India's second and third highest civilian awards—and, in 1994, the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, the highest accolade from India's National Academy of Letters. He was also appointed to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament.