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Rukmini Aunty and the R K Narayan Fan Club: A Contemporary Fiction About R. K. Narayan’s Heritage House | A Story of Community Spirit & Love for Literature
Rukmini aunty’s newly built house in Mysore is near a dilapidated relic with its roof caved in, marring the view from her specially designed Zen-like meditation nook. She abhors the house that reeks of litigation and lawsuits and wants it gone, until she discovers that the house belonged to the illustrious writer, R.K. Narayan. It is close to being torn down brick by brick, when the city authorities step in and designate it as a Heritage building and stop the demolition. The fate of Narayan’s abode hangs between the builder’s scalpel and the limited coffers of the city, while they scramble for funds to buy it from his heirs at the prevailing market rate. Only Rukmini aunty and the ‘R.K. Narayan Fan Club’ ladies group in her neighbourhood can now save the house
- GenresFiction
189 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 20, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 5, 2026
This is one of those books that feels deceptively simple, almost effortless until you realise how much warmth, observation, and quiet intelligence is packed into it. Part character study, part love letter to literature, it captures everyday lives with gentle humor and deep empathy.
What’s especially fascinating is how the most animated enthusiasm around the fan club comes from women who aren’t really fans at all, & how the very idea of the RK Narayan Fan Club is sparked by someone who hasn’t even read his books. That irony sets the tone beautifully.
The narrative slips in sharp, satirical observations on how government offices function, the rhythms and absurdities of the IT industry, and the peculiar logic of the marriage market - all without ever obscuring the actual theme. There’s also a gentle but pointed commentary on how outsiders often value Indian traditions more deeply than we do ourselves, along with a subtle jab at contemporary notions of current art and cinema.
Rukmini Aunty feels instantly real..someone you’ve met, known, or grown up around.
This book doesn’t shout for attention..it lingers! A book that reminds you why stories, fandoms, and ordinary people matter so much :)
What’s especially fascinating is how the most animated enthusiasm around the fan club comes from women who aren’t really fans at all, & how the very idea of the RK Narayan Fan Club is sparked by someone who hasn’t even read his books. That irony sets the tone beautifully.
The narrative slips in sharp, satirical observations on how government offices function, the rhythms and absurdities of the IT industry, and the peculiar logic of the marriage market - all without ever obscuring the actual theme. There’s also a gentle but pointed commentary on how outsiders often value Indian traditions more deeply than we do ourselves, along with a subtle jab at contemporary notions of current art and cinema.
Rukmini Aunty feels instantly real..someone you’ve met, known, or grown up around.
This book doesn’t shout for attention..it lingers! A book that reminds you why stories, fandoms, and ordinary people matter so much :)
January 13, 2026
I usually begin my year with a book by an Indian author, and this time was no different. Ever since I learned about the R.K. Narayan museum in Mysore, I’ve wanted to visit, it’s still on my list, but reading this book brought me closer to that experience. The cover itself is charming, and the characters inside are delightfully quirky, funny, and wonderfully real. The story carries a touch of R.K. Narayan’s trademark simplicity, which I deeply appreciated.
The premise was engaging, and since Mysore is one of my favourite cities in the world, reading about it filled me with joy. It almost felt as though I was walking through the neighbourhood myself. The pacing of the story was excellent, though I lingered over it at my own rhythm. Rukmini Aunty stood out as so endearing and huggable, even if she might protest the idea. She’s the kind of person who would eventually make a great friend, despite initial reservations.
There were a few characters I wished to know more about, but perhaps it’s better that way, sometimes the mystery keeps them more likeable. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and cherished every bit of the journey it offered
The premise was engaging, and since Mysore is one of my favourite cities in the world, reading about it filled me with joy. It almost felt as though I was walking through the neighbourhood myself. The pacing of the story was excellent, though I lingered over it at my own rhythm. Rukmini Aunty stood out as so endearing and huggable, even if she might protest the idea. She’s the kind of person who would eventually make a great friend, despite initial reservations.
There were a few characters I wished to know more about, but perhaps it’s better that way, sometimes the mystery keeps them more likeable. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and cherished every bit of the journey it offered
January 6, 2026
I noticed this book in a Sunday magazine of The Hindu. No, not a part of literary review, but as a promotional material. So, I didn’t read it then and there. Instead, as a ritual, I amazoned (counterpart of googled) and pre-ordered it instantly.
Well, I got it on scheduled day, but owing to my travels I could open it only yesterday (2nd Jan, 2026). And, today I am reviewing it.
It’s about a decade or even more I read any fiction worth the name. I have been feeding myself with the juices of my own field, thick with mathematical cream, sipping through philosophical straws. My readings are thus polarized towards non-fiction. At the same time, there have been occasions tempting me to pick up fiction, thanks to The Hindu on Sundays, but some strange feeling keeps me away from buying despite putting them in my cart and seriously studying the fluctuations in the offer prices.
But, this one had an opposite feeling and I bought it on the spot. Read it in one go (about 180 pages) as well, and sat quietly typing this article.
First, I am a die-hard fan of RK Narayanaswamy, BA, Engine driver (pp. My days, 1974). While talking about Swamy and Malgudi Days is cliched, I would quickly add that I picked up quite a bit of my vocabulary before I entered engineering college, through RKN’s writings. The words, siesta and guffaw, to mention, are the top two on my list; one can instantly recognize them from any novel by Narayan. In my first year engineering I impressed our beautiful English teacher with a simile I borrowed from RKN - as complicated as a railway timetable. Moreover, I acquired a taste for the filter coffee while I was still a milk baby. Needless to mention that I developed a similar sense of humour out of observing the mundane around with a sarcastic eye.
Probably I read all his writings once as a homage when he passed away. Gradually, other books, chiefly my inclination towards nonfiction, occupied my time.
Now, it’s like a reunion with old friends where nostalgia lingers forever. First, Bhaskar wrote this in a language which is reasonably close to RKN. I wouldn’t say it was astonishing or something like that, but certainly very impressive in bringing back the hidden memories to life. I think it is important to be close to the original but also be away from it. Secondly, the plot is typically Narayan’s with eccentric characters like not only Sesha uncle making astute observations but also corporation employees like Murthy to move the story forward after the curtains rise. There are minor detours, again nothing atypical, introducing Professor madam (and her “phoren” family) in the neighbourhood of Rukmini aunty; the tonsorial episode at the temple is a hilarious farse. That RKN had a deep connection with his grandmother, and that Swamy, who is everybody among Narayan’s fans, is also in the neighbourhood as the grandson of the doctor madam, makes a strong foundation for the rest of the story; only difference is that we have a reticent version unlike our overt Swamy.
I find yet another great reason to like this book. Somewhere the author writes - though separated by continents [the children], …, arriving on the other end of teenage years getting stoned on occasional tokes of ganja. Anyone like me in his/her mid fifties must accept the changes that are happening indeed, alongside the evolution of the next generation kids. It is not any debate on good or bad, but that the change has silently creeped under our mats; it is better to be aware and adapt rather than being hypocritically ignorant. I am more convinced with the author, with her roots in South India but the stem and branches in the US of A, bringing this topic, briefly though, subtly as a matter of fact. In a way it made me reflect on myself as a teenager in 1980s with a liking for books rather than tokes. And, haven’t we got into working from homes and working at odd hours to meet international bosses and clients, which we never ever imagined? How times change without any visible change!
It’s an excellent read, and I am exceedingly happy reading it fully before my teaching session commenced after winter break. For some more weeks I happily carry myself as the stern headmaster of Albert Mission School in my own Malgudi, the NIT campus in Trichinopoly. While reading and, most importantly, assimilating Narayan’s works help reading this story like taking a luxurious bath with eau de cologne in a tub, nevertheless I recommend everyone to take a refreshing bath mixing this magic potion in their overhead water tanks; am I saying something in five sentences which can be just finished with five words?!. Hearty congratulations to Bhaskar for playing the perfect Getafix for the modern Malgudi in the making.
My impulsive purchases usually do not go wrong.
Well, I got it on scheduled day, but owing to my travels I could open it only yesterday (2nd Jan, 2026). And, today I am reviewing it.
It’s about a decade or even more I read any fiction worth the name. I have been feeding myself with the juices of my own field, thick with mathematical cream, sipping through philosophical straws. My readings are thus polarized towards non-fiction. At the same time, there have been occasions tempting me to pick up fiction, thanks to The Hindu on Sundays, but some strange feeling keeps me away from buying despite putting them in my cart and seriously studying the fluctuations in the offer prices.
But, this one had an opposite feeling and I bought it on the spot. Read it in one go (about 180 pages) as well, and sat quietly typing this article.
First, I am a die-hard fan of RK Narayanaswamy, BA, Engine driver (pp. My days, 1974). While talking about Swamy and Malgudi Days is cliched, I would quickly add that I picked up quite a bit of my vocabulary before I entered engineering college, through RKN’s writings. The words, siesta and guffaw, to mention, are the top two on my list; one can instantly recognize them from any novel by Narayan. In my first year engineering I impressed our beautiful English teacher with a simile I borrowed from RKN - as complicated as a railway timetable. Moreover, I acquired a taste for the filter coffee while I was still a milk baby. Needless to mention that I developed a similar sense of humour out of observing the mundane around with a sarcastic eye.
Probably I read all his writings once as a homage when he passed away. Gradually, other books, chiefly my inclination towards nonfiction, occupied my time.
Now, it’s like a reunion with old friends where nostalgia lingers forever. First, Bhaskar wrote this in a language which is reasonably close to RKN. I wouldn’t say it was astonishing or something like that, but certainly very impressive in bringing back the hidden memories to life. I think it is important to be close to the original but also be away from it. Secondly, the plot is typically Narayan’s with eccentric characters like not only Sesha uncle making astute observations but also corporation employees like Murthy to move the story forward after the curtains rise. There are minor detours, again nothing atypical, introducing Professor madam (and her “phoren” family) in the neighbourhood of Rukmini aunty; the tonsorial episode at the temple is a hilarious farse. That RKN had a deep connection with his grandmother, and that Swamy, who is everybody among Narayan’s fans, is also in the neighbourhood as the grandson of the doctor madam, makes a strong foundation for the rest of the story; only difference is that we have a reticent version unlike our overt Swamy.
I find yet another great reason to like this book. Somewhere the author writes - though separated by continents [the children], …, arriving on the other end of teenage years getting stoned on occasional tokes of ganja. Anyone like me in his/her mid fifties must accept the changes that are happening indeed, alongside the evolution of the next generation kids. It is not any debate on good or bad, but that the change has silently creeped under our mats; it is better to be aware and adapt rather than being hypocritically ignorant. I am more convinced with the author, with her roots in South India but the stem and branches in the US of A, bringing this topic, briefly though, subtly as a matter of fact. In a way it made me reflect on myself as a teenager in 1980s with a liking for books rather than tokes. And, haven’t we got into working from homes and working at odd hours to meet international bosses and clients, which we never ever imagined? How times change without any visible change!
It’s an excellent read, and I am exceedingly happy reading it fully before my teaching session commenced after winter break. For some more weeks I happily carry myself as the stern headmaster of Albert Mission School in my own Malgudi, the NIT campus in Trichinopoly. While reading and, most importantly, assimilating Narayan’s works help reading this story like taking a luxurious bath with eau de cologne in a tub, nevertheless I recommend everyone to take a refreshing bath mixing this magic potion in their overhead water tanks; am I saying something in five sentences which can be just finished with five words?!. Hearty congratulations to Bhaskar for playing the perfect Getafix for the modern Malgudi in the making.
My impulsive purchases usually do not go wrong.
January 14, 2026
Sita Bhaskar is an extremely talented writer, her book Rukmini Aunty and the R. K. Narayan Fan Club was so enjoyable and captivating, I couldn’t put it down! It started with Rukmini Auntie being very excited about her new house in Mysore India. She had one problem there was a house close by that was old and dilapidated with the roof falling in. Her family discovered that it belonged to R.K. Narayan, a very famous Indian author. Rukmini Aunty had never heard of him, but her niece Janani, told her he was like the famous author Mark Twain. She reminded her of the trip they took from Madison, Wisconsin when Rukmini Auntie last visited and the day they spent at the historic boyhood home of Mark Twain in Hannibal Missouri. That started a whole chain of events that got Rukmini Auntie involved with a group of neighborhood women under the auspices of preserving the home. The book is funny and charming and has great observations of the cultural flow between the US and India. I am very hopeful that another with installment of the R.K. Narayan Fan Club will be forthcoming in the near future, meanwhile this book has encouraged me to explore the writing of R. K. Narayan.
January 14, 2026
In the Author's Note, Sita Bhaskar explains her vision - "... unravels the tapestry of R.K. Narayan's stories and weaves it back into a modern setting with threads borrowed from Narayan's stories and his characters." She executes this vision deftly melding modern Mysore and America that evokes Narayan's "Swamy and Friends" nostalgia with just the right amount of Americana. "Mysore isn't America", Mukta's cousin tells Mukta, a Chicagoan, as she contemplates making a move on "CB" - Cute Butt - a fellow yoga student and resident of the same apartment complex in Mysore as hers. Mukta finds that in some ways the Mysore of today is the same as America where horoscopes play no part in mating rituals. And in other ways, Narayan's Mysore still pervades Mysorean daily life today with its filter coffee, laid back living, and distrust of the police. Bhaskar's language is Narayan like in its simplicity, detail, and turn of phrase - "... the top lady body parts would launch into space on their own and soon be found orbiting around the earth. _The sun wouldn't be the only heavenly body revolving around the earth._" If there is a minor quibble, it is to do with what a reader who has not read R.K. Narayan, might think of this wonderful book. Does it stand on its own with no knowledge of R.K. Narayan? In this reader's opinion, it does. And one hopes that this book draws readers to exploring R.K. Narayan's books.
November 30, 2025
Sita Bhaskar's "Rukmini Aunty and the R.K. Narayan Fan Club" is a warm, humorous narrative that follows Rukmini Aunty and her family during a visit that leads to a chaotic exploration of a dilapidated house once owned by R.K. Narayan. The story illustrates a mix of curiosity and cultural contrasts, highlighting the challenges posed by Indian bureaucracy as the family navigates their mystery. With relatable character interactions and comic scenes, the narrative emphasizes themes of nostalgia and the significance of stories in understanding identity and heritage. Overall, the novel is a charming tribute to Narayan, leaving readers with a sense of joy and the importance of preserving history.
January 16, 2026
Light, quick read
February 6, 2026
A warm, feel-good good book that wrapped it arms around me and gave me a string of unending giggles! Its utterly relatable characters went about their lives in front of my eyes while they reached for a higher purpose far beyond their little world with enough spunk to bridge the two continents and cultures that make up this book. What really amazed me is how R.K.Narayan's stories set in fictional Malgudi have been seamlessly blended into this story set in the last decade in our hyper global world, this is both creative thinking and creating writing doing a merry dance which I much enjoyed!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews