Next Sunday

The narrator (Narayan himself) talks about how people react to the characters in his stories.
Many readers think that his fictional characters are based on real people from his town.
Some readers try to guess who the character is in real life.
Others get angry or pleased depending on whether they think they were written about.
The narrator tries to explain that his characters are not based on real people—they are imaginary.
He also says writers must observe the world, but they use imagination, not just real facts.
The essay ends with a gentle reminder that people should read stories for enjoyment, not to search for themselves in them.

“A writer is not a photographer…”
→ This means a writer doesn’t simply copy real life, but creates new worlds with imagination.
“Please do not ask me who the model was.”
→ Narayan is politely asking readers not to guess real people behind fictional characters.

The narrator is R.K. Narayan himself, speaking directly to the reader.
He is witty, calm, and humorous, showing how he handles misunderstandings.
He shows how writers often face strange and funny situations because of readers’ assumptions.

Learn@Prerna