recognition also came in the form of honorary doctorates by the university of leeds (1967), the university of mysore (1976) and delhi university (1973). towards the end of his career, narayan was nominated to the upper house of the indian parliament for a six-year term starting in 1989, for his contributions to indian literature. a year before his death, in 2001, he was awarded india's second-highest civilian honour, the padma vibhushan.