<P> Narayan highlights the social context and everyday life of his characters . He has been compared to William Faulkner who also created a similar fictional town and likewise explored with humour and compassion the energy of ordinary life . Narayan's short stories have been compared with those of Guy de Maupassant because of his ability to compress a narrative . However he has also been criticised for the simplicity of his prose . </P> <P> In a career that spanned over sixty years Narayan received many awards and honours including the (AC Benson Medal)) from the Royal Society of Literature, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan, India's third and second highest civilian awards . He was also nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's parliament . </P> <P> R.K. Narayan was born in Madras (now Chennai), British India . He was one of eight children: namely, six sons and two daughters . Narayan was the oldest of the sons; his younger brother Ramachandran later became an editor at Gemini Studios, and the youngest brother Laxman became a cartoonist . His father was a school headmaster, and Narayan did some of his studies at his father's school . As his father's job entailed frequent transfers, Narayan spent a part of his childhood under the care of his maternal grandmother, Parvati . During this time his best friends and playmates were a peacock and a mischievous monkey . </P> <P> His grandmother gave him the nickname of Kunjappa, A name that stuck to him in family circles . She taught him arithmetic, mythology, classical Indian music and Sanskrit . According to Laxman, the family mostly conversed in English, and grammatical errors on the part of Narayan and his siblings were frowned upon . While living with his grandmother, Narayan studied at a succession of schools in Madras, including the Lutheran Mission School in Purasawalkam, C.R.C. High School, and the Christian College High School . Narayan was an avid reader, and his early literary diet included Dickens, Wodehouse, Arthur Conan Doyle and Thomas Hardy . When he was twelve years old, Narayan participated in a pro-independence march, for which he was reprimanded by his uncle; the family was apolitical and considered all governments wicked . </P>

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