The Financial Expert (1952)  by R. K. Narayan

About the Author:

R. K. Narayan (Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami) was born on October 10, 1906, in Madras (now Chennai), India. He is one of India’s most celebrated authors, known for his remarkable ability to depict everyday life and the intricacies of human relationships in Indian society.

Narayan spent much of his early life in Madras and Mysore. He was deeply influenced by his surroundings, which later provided the backdrop for much of his fiction. He began his writing career in the early 1930s, and his first novel, Swami and Friends (1935), was discovered and published by British novelist Graham Greene, who also helped Narayan secure a publishing contract.

Most of Narayan's works are set in the fictional South Indian town of Malgudi, a creation that has become as famous as his characters. His writing is known for its simplicity, humor, and insight into the human psyche, often dealing with the conflicts between tradition and modernity in Indian life. Narayan passed away on May 13, 2001, in Chennai at the age of 94, leaving behind an extraordinary literary legacy.

Literary Style

R. K. Narayan’s style is characterized by his simple, unadorned prose and subtle humor. His focus is on the lives of ordinary people, and his stories often explore the contrast between Indian traditions and modern values. Narayan does not delve into complex symbolism or experimental writing; instead, his strength lies in his ability to create engaging narratives that reflect the nuances of Indian society.

Notable Works

Novels:

Swami and Friends (1935): Narayan’s first novel, set in the fictional town of Malgudi, revolves around a young boy named Swaminathan and his group of friends. It provides an evocative picture of childhood in colonial India.

The Bachelor of Arts (1937): A coming-of-age story about a young man named Chandran, who struggles with love, career, and self-identity.

The English Teacher (1945): This novel is semi-autobiographical and follows a man’s emotional journey after the death of his wife.

The Financial Expert (1952): Follows the story of a financial consultant, Margayya, and critiques the blind pursuit of wealth.

The Guide (1958): One of his most famous works, it tells the story of Raju, a tour guide turned spiritual guru, and explores themes of redemption and transformation. This novel won Narayan the Sahitya Akademi Award.

The Man-Eater of Malgudi (1961): A humorous novel about a printer named Nataraj and his struggle against a taxidermist who represents destruction and corruption.

Waiting for the Mahatma (1955): A novel that brings together the personal and political, as a young man becomes involved in the Indian independence movement under Mahatma Gandhi’s influence.

The Vendor of Sweets (1967): A novel focusing on a conflict between a father and son, each representing the opposing values of tradition and modernity.

Short Stories:

Malgudi Days (1943): This is a collection of short stories set in Malgudi, with characters drawn from everyday life. The collection is widely praised for its keen observation of human nature.

An Astrologer’s Day and Other Stories (1947): Another short story collection exploring diverse facets of human life.

Memoir:

My Days (1974): Narayan’s autobiography offers insights into his life, career, and literary approach.

Essays and Non-fiction:

The Emerald Route (1980): A travelogue focusing on the southern part of India.

A Writer's Nightmare (1988): A collection of essays on diverse topics, including literature, culture, and politics.

Legacy

Narayan’s Malgudi has entered the realm of timeless fictional locales, similar to William Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County or Gabriel García Márquez's Macondo. His characters, often caught between the old and the new, resonate with readers for their universality. In addition to the Sahitya Akademi Award, he received numerous other honors, including the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan from the Government of India. His works have been adapted for television, including the popular Indian TV series Malgudi Days.

Narayan’s ability to weave the essence of Indian life into his stories, coupled with his keen insights into the human condition, has cemented his place as one of the most important literary figures in Indian and world literature.

The Financial Expert- Introduction:

R.K. Narayan’s The Financial Expert (1952), is his masterpiece. The Financial Expert tells the story of the rise and fall of Margayya, the financial expert who runs a small business of getting loans for the illiterate villagers. He wishes to earn a whole lot of money so that he gains respect in society. With advice from a journalist he publishes a book and earns some money which he uses to start a firm offering many financial services and prospers. Though, Margayya gets more than enough money, he does not have peace of mind owing to his spoilt son, Balu, who is unwilling to study or work. William Walsh hails Margayya, the hero of the novel as “probably Narayan’s greatest single comic creation.”

Five-Part Summary

It is an extremely well-constructed novel, in five parts corresponding to the five Acts of an Elizabethan drama.

1. Margayya’s Modest Beginnings Margayya, the protagonist, is a small-time financial consultant operating under a banyan tree near a cooperative bank in the fictional town of Malgudi. He helps illiterate villagers with paperwork to secure loans and takes a small commission for his services. Despite his modest means, Margayya dreams of rising in social status and acquiring wealth, feeling dissatisfied with his current standing.

2. Margayya’s Financial Rise After a dispute with the cooperative bank, Margayya’s career takes a turn when he meets Dr. Pal, a self-styled sociologist, who introduces him to the idea of publishing a book on financial management. This venture proves successful, and Margayya starts to accumulate wealth. With his newfound success, he expands his financial dealings and becomes a wealthy moneylender.

3. Margayya’s Family Troubles As Margayya grows wealthier, his relationship with his family, especially his son Balu, deteriorates. Balu is indifferent to his father’s business and squanders money recklessly. Margayya, blinded by his ambition, overindulges Balu, which leads to further complications. Despite his wealth, Margayya struggles to control his rebellious son and the emotional gap between them widens.

4. Margayya’s Decline Margayya’s involvement with Dr. Pal eventually leads him into risky business ventures. His empire starts to crumble due to poor decisions, the moral corruption of his associates, and his son’s irresponsible actions. Balu’s reckless behavior and Dr. Pal’s betrayal further contribute to Margayya’s financial ruin, wiping out all his hard-earned wealth.

5. Margayya’s Return to Simplicity In the end, Margayya’s financial empire collapses, leaving him with little more than what he started with. He is humbled by his downfall and returns to his original position as a modest moneylender under the banyan tree. The novel closes with Margayya realizing the futility of his obsessive pursuit of wealth, coming to terms with the simple life he once had.

Plot Summary

The protagonist of the novel, Margayya begins his career as petty money-lender doing his business under the Bunyan tree, in front of the Central Co-operative Land Mortgage Bank in Malgudi. He helps the shareholders of the bank to borrow money at a small interest and lends it to the needy at a higher interest. In the process, he makes money for himself.

The Secretary of the Bank and Arul Doss, the peon, seize from his box the loan application forms he has managed to get from the Bank through its shareholders; they treat him with contempt, and threaten to proceed against him. This sets the path of improving his position.

Balu, his spoilt-child throws his account book, containing all the entries of his transactions with his clients into the gutter, and it becomes impossible for Margayya to resume his old practice. He shows his horoscope to an astrologer and is assured that good times will come for him if he offers puja to Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth. The puja is done for forty days, with ash from a red lotus and ghee made of milk from a grey cow. Margayya goes through the puja with all rigour and at the end of it is full of a prosperous career.

Dr. Pal, who sells him the manuscript of a book on Bed Life, for whatever ready cash Margayya’s purse contains, assures him that the book named Domestic Harmony will sell in tens of thousands if only he can find a publisher. Madan Lal, “a man from the North”, reads the manuscript and agrees to publish it on a fifty-fifty partnership basis. The book is at once popular and sells like hot cakes and Margayya hits a fortune.

Margayya is again ruined through his son Balu. He had admitted him in school in great style, getting the blessing of his brother and sister-in-law next door. His wealth had made him become the Secretary of the School Managing Committee. This had armed him with enough power over the Headmaster and the School Staff. He had engaged a private tutor for his son and instructed him to thrash the boy whenever necessary.

But Balu was not good in his studies. He could not clear his S.S.L.C. He tried to persuade him to take the examination for the second time. The result was that Balu seized the School Leaving Certificate Book, tore it into for quarters and threw them into the gutter the same gutter which closed its dark waters over Margayya’s red account book, carried away the School Leaving Certificate Book. Then Balu ran away from home.

A few days later there was a letter from Madras telling Margayya that his son was dead. The brother’s family immediately comes to his help, though Margayya felt that he could do without their help and wondered if that would change the existing relationship between them. He left for Madras, discovered through the good offices of a fellow traveller a police inspector in plain clothes that his son was not really dead, traced the boy and brought him home.

He wanted to marry him to a girl named Brinda, the daughter of the owner of a tea estate in Mempi Hills. When a pundit, after an honest study, declared that the horoscopes of Balu and Brinda did not match, he was curtly dismissed with a fee of one rupee. Another astrologer, whom Dr. Pal found, gave it in writing that the two-horoscope matched perfectly and was paid Rs. 75 for his pains. “Money can dictate the very stars in their course.”

Balu and his wife were helped to set up an establishment of their own in Lawley Extension. Margayya, wishing to draw Dr. Pal away from his son, sought his help in attracting deposits from Black Marketers on the promise of an interest of 29%. If he got Rs. 20,000 deposit each day and paid Rs. 15, 000 in interest, he had still Rs. 5000 a day left in his hands as his own.

Margayya became rich. It was now necessary for him to own a car. Every nook and corner of his house was stuffed with sacks full of currency notes. He was on the right side of the police, contributed to the War Fund when driven to do so, and worked day and night with his accounts and money bags, though his wife was unhappy at his straining himself so much.

One day Margayya visited his son in Lawley Extension. He found Brinda and her child. The girl could not hold back her tears, while narrating Balu’s nocturnal activities. When Margayya got out of the house, he found a car halting in front of it. Out of which emerged Balu. His companions were Dr. Pal and a couple of women in the town.

The enraged Margayya pulled Dr. Pal out of the car, beat him and dismissed the two women with contempt. The next day Dr. Pal with a bandaged face whispered to all and sundry that things were not going well with Margayya’s concerns. Hundreds of people swarmed Margayya and pressed him to return their deposits forthwith. All the accumulated wealth was disbursed. Still hundreds of people could not be satisfied. The run on the Bank led to Maragayya’s filing an insolvency petition. And thus like a house of cards the wealth that Margayya had accumulated was blown away. He advised his son to take his place under the Banyan tree with the old box. When Balu hesitated to do that for fear of what people would say about it, Margayya offered to do so himself.

The theme of the novel is lust for money. But Margayya is no monster of greed and wickedness. In his depiction of Margayya, Narayan has succeeded in humanizing him and showing that despite his lust for money, he is a human being like us.

K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar observes, The Financial Expert is, in its own sphere, quite an achievement. It is clearly and even sparklingly written, it is mildly satirical, and it is unexcitingly interesting and entertaining. Perhaps the main defects of the novel is that its chief characters are little better than caricatures; but so are the ‘good companions’ in The Pickwick Papers, and so are certain Wellsian characters like the hero of Tono Bungay and w Chitterlow of Kipps, who persist in our imagination.

Character Analysis:

Margayya (The Financial Expert): Margayya is the protagonist of the novel. He starts as a simple moneylender operating under a banyan tree outside a cooperative bank in Malgudi. His name, "Margayya," means "one who shows the way," reflecting his role as a financial advisor to the local villagers.

Balu (Margayya’s Son): Balu is Margayya’s only son and serves as a foil to Margayya’s ambitions. While Margayya is obsessed with wealth and status, Balu is careless, irresponsible, and indifferent to his father's goals.

Dr. Pal: Dr. Pal is a pivotal character in Margayya’s rise and fall. He is a corrupt, self-proclaimed social scientist who introduces Margayya to the world of publishing and higher finance.

Brinda (Balu’s Wife): Brinda is Balu’s patient and loyal wife. 

The Villagers (Margayya’s Clients) : The villagers of Malgudi, who come to Margayya for financial advice, serve as a backdrop to his rise and fall. They represent the simple, trusting people who rely on him for guidance.

Themes

Materialism and Greed: The central theme of The Financial Expert is the destructive power of materialism and greed. Margayya’s entire journey is driven by his desire to rise in society and accumulate wealth. His obsession with financial success becomes the primary force in his life, and he even goes so far as to use unethical means to achieve his goals. However, his single-minded pursuit of money leads to his downfall, illustrating Narayan's critique of blind materialism.

Family and Generational Conflict: The novel also highlights the tensions and misunderstandings that can exist between parents and children, especially when values clash. Margayya’s relationship with his son, Balu, exemplifies this theme of generational conflict.

Ambition and its Consequences: Ambition is another central theme in The Financial Expert. Margayya’s ambition initially seems to stem from noble intentions—he wants to improve his social standing and provide for his family—but it soon becomes an all-consuming force.

The Role of Fate and Luck: Narayan also explores the theme of fate and luck in the novel. Despite Margayya’s intelligence and effort, his rise and fall are significantly influenced by external factors, over which he has little control.

Corruption and Morality: Narayan critiques the corrupting influence of power and wealth through Margayya’s character and his interactions with others, particularly Dr. Pal.

Tradition vs. Modernity: The novel subtly contrasts traditional values with modern aspirations. Margayya’s ambitions are rooted in a desire to break away from the traditional lifestyle of a small-town moneylender, but in doing so, he loses sight of the stability and wisdom that tradition offers.

Illusion of Control: Another significant theme in The Financial Expert is the illusion of control. Margayya believes that he can control his fate by accumulating wealth and manipulating financial systems, but in the end, external forces—fate, his son’s behavior, and corrupt influences—prove him wrong.

Quotes:

He has every right because he has more money, authority, dress, looks - above all, more money. It's money which gives people all this. Money alone is important in this world."- Margayya

Wealth...comes only to those who pray for it single-mindedly with no other thought."- The Priest

Money was man's greatest need like air or food. People went to horrifying lengths for its sake, like collecting rent on a dead body—it left him admiring the power and dynamism of money, its capacity to make people do strange deeds. -Margayya 

Film adaptation:

The Financial Expert was adapted to a Kannada-language film, Banker Margayya, in 1983