Book Review: Swami and Friends
Certain books define coming of age for an English fiction reader. Sherlock Holmes, Famous Five, Hercule Poirot…the list goes on. Some of us have different lists, but in a readers’ group it would be astonishing that if we have skipped the must-reads, it is a blot in our readership career.
Most Indian readers grow with European classics and jump to American pulp fiction. Yet, the magical experience of reading fiction by Indian Authors without the weight of history and religion is probably the one I would most cherish.
RK Narayan is probably the most eminent writer of this genre — light fiction — any day, any time read, with a flow that rivals native English writers. Humor and irony are his mainstay, yet it does not devolve into satire because his characters carry with them the whole baggage of their attributes.
Swami and Friends is a beautifully crafted series of short stories, connected by the characters. In today’s parlance, this would turn as a novel, and if televised a series with couple of seasons and multiple episodes.
I picked the book from my nieces, because I was reading another one ‘The Financial Expert’ by RK Narayan again, so wanted to push this ahead in the pipeline.
Cover, Title, Plot:
Swami and Friends is a simple title that summarizes the characters. The protagonist, Swaminathan, is a resident of Malgudi, the fictitious town that RKN created for most of his stories.
The cover illustration is by RK Laxman, his illustrious cartoonist brother, who is a wizard on his own. The beauty of the cover brings out the three characters— Mani, with his club on the left, Swami, with his confused look in the middle, and Rajam, the rich son of the Deputy Superintendent of Police.
Swami is a lazy school boy, who prefers to while away his time, than concentrate on studies. He lives with his Father, Mother, and Granny in Malgudi. He attends the Albert Mission School with his friends Samuel, Sankar, Somu, and Mani. The arrival of a new student, Rajam — the son of a wealthy police superintendent — threatens Swami’s popularity. After an initial rivalry, Swami and Rajam reconcile and become friends.
Swami takes part in a Gandhian movement ( including burning the Lancashire cap which turns out to be Khadar) and runs away from his Albert Mission School as he is held guilty for pelting stones and breaking windows. He ends up in the more rigorous Board High School.
Rajam, Swami and their friends form a cricket team called Malgudi Cricket Club ( MCC) and challenge another team. Swami is their bowling spearhead and is called ‘Tate’, after the famous Maurice Tate. But Swami is not able to turn up for practice because of his strict school routine, which prompts an intervention by Rajam that turns nasty for Swami. Swami runs away from Board High when the head master canes him.
He wanders into the nearby woods and is lost. ‘Ranga’ a cart-man, brings him to his family through the DSP and the District Forest Officer. While Swami is still figuring out the adulations and attention he is getting from his family and friends, the shocking news that MCC has lost the match. Rajam breaks their friendship and Swami is heart broken.
A few days later, he learns that Rajam is moving out of Malgudi, because of his father’s transfer. Heartbroken, he desperately tires to see Rajam, along with Mani. He tries to gift Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales to him. As they shout, Rajam’s reply is lost in the din of the train engine.
The magical world of Swami:
The world of Swami, a 10 year old boy is magical, like Harry Potter ( not the sorcery, but the saga itself). He has his little dreams and loads of hope. There are friends those who he loves and headmasters who he hates. He is imaginative (as we find out when he is lost in the jungles of Malgudi), believes in the paranormal (‘that dark hidden thing behind’) and fictitious enemies.
His friendship arcs with the development of characters like Mani and Rajam, contrasting contemporaries, yet grow into bosom pals. His views and interactions with his family — Father, Mother, Granny and little brother Subbu are the little things that we enjoy, as we explore RKN’s vivid narration of Swami’s dilemma, confusion and innocence. His response to figures of authority — his father, the head masters, Rajam’s father et al is brings smile to our faces.
Believe me, Swami’s world is as magical as Harry Potters.
A Book for all ages:
If somebody wants to visit the small town India under colonial rule, this book is a great piece. We see the world through the eyes of a small town kid, who is self-doubting, dull and lazy, and full of idiosyncrasies. We see the times of Swamis life, yet the timelessness of RKN’s Chekovian humor.
Add this book into the ‘must read’ path for every readership career.
~Ashok Subramanian
