 While vacationing at his sister 's house in Coimbatore , in 1933 , Narayan met and fell in love with Rajam , a 15 @-@ year @-@ old girl who lived nearby . Despite many astrological and financial obstacles , Narayan managed to gain permission from the girl 's father and married her . Following his marriage , Narayan became a reporter for a Madras @-@ based paper called The Justice , dedicated to the rights of non @-@ Brahmins . The publishers were thrilled to have a Brahmin Iyer in Narayan espousing their cause . The job brought him in contact with a wide variety of people and issues . Earlier , Narayan had sent the manuscript of Swami and Friends to a friend at Oxford , and about this time , the friend showed the manuscript to Graham Greene . Greene recommended the book to his publisher , and it was finally published in 1935 . Greene also counseled Narayan on shortening his name to become more familiar to the English @-@ speaking audience . The book was semi @-@ autobiographical and built upon many incidents from his own childhood . Reviews were favourable but sales were few . Narayan 's next novel The Bachelor of Arts ( 1937 ) , was inspired in part by his experiences at college , and dealt with the theme of a rebellious adolescent transitioning to a rather well @-@ adjusted adult ; it was published by a different publisher , again at the recommendation of Greene . His third novel , The Dark Room ( 1938 ) was about domestic disharmony , showcasing the man as the oppressor and the woman as the victim within a marriage , and was published by yet another publisher ; this book also received good reviews . In 1937 , Narayan 's father died , and Narayan was forced to accept a commission from the government of Mysore as he was not making any money . 
