Swami and Friends, set in British-colonial
India in the year 1930, begins with an introduction to Swaminathan and his four
principal friends: Somu, Sankar, Mani, and the Pea. Swaminathan appreciates his
friends’ dramatically different personalities, and these differences only
strengthen their powerful bond.
The arrival of Rajam, who is the son of
Malgudi’s new police superintendent, changes everything. Initially, Swaminathan
and Mani despise Rajam, but the three boys become best friends after
confronting him. Likewise, Swaminathan’s friendship with Rajam also initially
infuriates Somu, Sankar, and the Pea, but Rajam convinces all six of the boys
to be friends, becoming the de-facto leader of their group in the process.
When Swaminathan joins a mob protesting the
recent arrest of a prominent Indian politician in Malgudi[mp2] , his life changes forever. Inflamed and
intoxicated by the mob’s nationalist fervour, Swaminathan shatters the windows
of his headmaster’s office with a thrown rock. Though the crowd is dispersed by
Rajam’s father, there are grave consequences. Several people are injured in the
violence, and Swaminathan’s participation in the violence not only forces him
to switch schools, but upsets Rajam, creating a rift in their friendship.
Ultimately, Swaminathan atones for his regretful actions, earning Rajam’s
forgiveness. Seeking a less destructive means to channel his passions,
Swaminathan decides to join Rajam in founding a new cricket team, called the M.C.C.[mp3]
A match is scheduled between the M.C.C. and
another local youth team called the Y.M.U, but new tensions mount between Rajam
and Swaminathan in the build-up to the match. Swaminathan misses several
practices due to the heavy homework load at his new school, and his truancy
infuriates Rajam, who threatens to never speak to him again if he misses the
Y.M.U. match.
Swaminathan fails to persuade his stern
headmaster at the new school into allowing him an early dismissal to attend
M.C.C’s practices. Forbidden from participating with M.C.C., Swaminathan loses
his cool, and throws his headmaster’s cane out the window. Terrified of the
consequences, Swaminathan decides to flee Malgudi for good.
Swaminathan becomes lost during his (what) from
Malgudi. By the time he is rescued, he has already missed the M.C.C.’s match
and ruined his friendship with Rajam. He learns from Mani that Rajam’s father
has been transferred to a new city, and that the boy will be departing for good
on the following morning. Swaminathan decides to say goodbye to Rajam at the
train station, and plans to give him a book as a parting gift
Unfortunately, on the morning of Rajam’s
departure, the train station is hectic and Swaminathan cannot reach Rajam
before he boards the train. As the train prepares to depart, Mani pulls
Swaminathan through the crowd, and up to the window of Rajam’s compartment.
When Rajam refuses to speak to Swaminathan, Mani hands Swaminathan’s book to
Rajam as the train departs. Mani attempts to console Swaminathan, reassuring
him that Rajam intends to write and that he accepted his book; however,
Swaminathan does not believe Mani, and the novel ends on a note of ambiguity
and uncertainly, represented by Mani’s indecipherable facial expression.
[mp1]R K Narayan’s first novel
[mp2]Fictitious town in Tamil Nadu somewhere between Madras and Tiruchi as
it is compared to Essex in Thomas Hardy’s novels
[mp3]Malgudi Cricket Club
No comments:
Post a Comment