SWAMI – SWAMI AND FRIENDS - #BLOGCHATTERA2ZCHALLENGE2022

                                                             librarywala.com

Malgudi appeared on the Indian landscape when the inimitable R.K. Narayan created this idyllic village which he populated with interesting characters, with all the foibles and characteristics that would appeal to generations of readers across time. Swami is one of his most loveable creations – a spirited ten-year-old Swaminathan and his gang of friends.

Swami lives with his parents and grandmother in Malgudi and attends the Albert Mission school. He enjoys life with his friends – Mani, Somu, Sankar and Samuel. When a new boy, Rajam, joins the school, Swami feels a little overshadowed as the boy is the son of a well-to-do police superintendent. However, after the initial bout of rivalry, they turn into good friends.

Swami, being naturally high-spirited, manages to get expelled from two schools. The first time he breaks the headmaster’s office window, as he participates in Gandhiji’s non-cooperative movement. The second is when he plays truant to play a cricket match. After being expelled, Swami runs away from home, but his fervour does not last long as he gets tired and hungry. When he is finally found and brought home, he is happy.

Meanwhile, his friends have lost the cricket match and Rajam is angry with Swami, and breaks off his friendship with him, something which saddens Swami. The next blow comes when Rajam and his family decide to relocate to another city. Swami rushes to the railway station to bid farewell to Rajam, and hands over a copy of Hans Christen Anderson’s Fairy Tales. It is a poignant moment as he asks Rajam if he would ever return, but the latter’s answer gets drowned as the train leaves, leaving poor loyal Swami in tears.

It was Graham Greene who read ‘Swami and Friends’ and was impressed enough to find Narayan a publisher. He stayed with Narayan through the process and when the book was published, Narayan expressed his gratitude through an inscription on his copy which read – “But for you, Swami would be at the bottom of Thames now.”

‘Swami and Friends’ was R.K. Narayan’s first novel, followed by two others, ‘The Bachelor of Arts’ and ‘The English Teacher’. On 5^th November 2019, ‘Swami and Friends’ was listed as one of the 100 most influential novels by BBC.

                                                                Times of India

Actor Director Shankar Nag adapted ‘Swami and Friends’ into a television series titled Malgudi days in 1986. Musician L Swaminathan’s catchy title music still rings in my ears, and I recall that, at that time, the whole country was before their TV sets, savouring the landscape and the saga of Malgudi, and the adventures of Swami, played by the adorable young actor, Master Manjunath. And who else could have done the sketches but the equally talented R.K. Laxman?

 
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