A consideration of Narayan's thematic preoccupations will further amplify our understanding of the fictional oeuvre of a remarkable writer. In this section we shall discuss Narayan's treatment of family and religion, children/childhood, friendship, love and marriage, filial relations, citizenly concerns like the relation of the individual to society, the East-West encounter, the transcendental ideal of Dharma and finally, what in a way is his over-arching concern, education.

First and foremost for Narayan, family and religion are very important considerations for writing. A rootedness in family and a strong religious cast of mind, he told Ved Mehta, results in good writing. This is very true of Narayan. His family values are strong and we know from the biography by the Rams how important family relationships were in Narayan's life. His attachment to his Grandmother who brought him up, his tenderness for his mother, his affectionate, but somewhat awe-stricken feelings for his Headmaster father, his relationship with uncles, siblings and with others in the family and friends of the family have been well documented in his biography and given expression to in his memoir, My Days. His friendships were part of this familial feeling and in his walks around Mysore he made many friends who even became characters in his fiction.