MADRAS, India Renowned Indian novelist R.K. Narayan died in hospital at the age of 95 early Sunday, friends and family announced.

N. Ram, one of Narayan's close friends and editor of India's frontline magazine, told reporters here that Narayan died of cardiovascular problems.

"Although he was under heavy sedation my friend was conscious before the end," said Ram. "I will miss him."

According to AFP, Narayan was admitted to a private hospital in the southern city of Madras on April 27 and his condition had since deteriorated. He was on a ventilator and had been semiconscious over the past week.

Rasipuram Krishnaswamyi Aiyar Naranayanaswamy, who later shortened his name to R.K. Narayan, was one of the foremost Indians writing in English.

His first novel, "Swami and Friends" (1935), was a literary landmark in India and won praise internationally.

The Royal Society of Literature honored Narayan with the prestigious A.C. Benson Award in 1980. He is an honorary member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.

Most of his works, noted for their gentle irony and humor as well as earthy evocation of day-to-day life in India, were set in the fictional town of Malgudi.

Among his most famous short stories is a horse and two goats, featuring a bizarre dialogue between an American visitor and an impoverished old villager who speaks no English beyond yes and no.

Late British author Graham Greene was a close friend of Narayan, whose most recent work was the 1993 collection "Salt and Sawdust: Stories and Table Talk".

Narayan wrote 34 novels, including "The Guide", which was made into a film, "Bachelor of Arts", "The Man Eater of Malgudi", "The Financial Expert", and "Malgudi Days".

His works, which are sometimes compared to those of American writer Willaim Faulkner, were widely translated and he won a number of literary awards in India and abroad.