First Sentence: Dodu was eight years old and wanted money badly. And since he nobody takes his financial worry seriously he decides to take matters in his own hands. He wants to earn money. What will he do?

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Shelves: light-fiction The creator of the fictional village Malgudi- R. Narayan has always charmed readers with the simplicity in his writings. His collection of the innocent, interesting and entertaining stories of Swami and his friends form an indispensable part of any Indian book shelf. This book has a collection of twenty eight delightful short stories of different colours, revolving around the ancient village - The creator of the fictional village Malgudi- R.


Such is the magic of story- teller R. A few words on my favourite stories in this book follow- 1. Nitya The generation gap - 20 year old Nitya is in a dilemma. His parents have suddenly remembered an unfulfilled vow they had taken in his childhood when he was suffering from some illness.

Nitya is aghast that his parents want their son to become bald and the laughing stock of his college. However, the religious parents are adamant that a vow should be fulfilled, come what may.

A horse and two goats Language barrier between 2 persons of different nationalities - A poor elderly couple- Muni and his wife live in a little village called Kritam. He has lost count of his age since his marriage at the age of thirteen! His daily task is to take his scanty flock for grazing on the outskirts of the village, and his source of entertainment here is to sit at the pedestal of a stone horse and watch the occasional vehicles passing through the highway.

The sight of this highway is his only connection with the larger world. Once, a tourist from US passes by and shows keen interest in buying this stone horse. He takes it that Muni is the owner and starts negotiations with him. Dodu Innocence — Eight year old Dodu has serious financial worries and the worst part is that his elders are not keen on heeding them.

He requires money to buy candies and crackers! He thinks of schemes and plots to earn money that eventually fail. A day when his elder brother mentions that epic writings on palm scripts fetch a lot of money, Dodu becomes ecstatic that he has got hold of a new scheme.

In his wobbly hand-writing, he writes a few words from his limited English vocabulary on some leaves and heads off to the village university building. He hopes of selling his masterpiece to any professor he catches hold of and consequently, earn a fortune. What happens next it to be read! Flavour of coconut A light story - This one starts with a description of a prisoner convicted of destruction to property on a household. He is known to be a sly, clever and invincible thief who has punctured clothes, torn important documents and has caused huge financial losses- a sinner who is now waiting for his sentence to be declared.

He is none other than a tiny mouse that has walked into a mouse trap by getting lured to the piece of roasted coconut used as the effective bait! Another Community A story on communal tensions - This touching story is based in the month of October of It depicts the tension that was prevalent amongst different communities.

Those were the times when a petty quarrel would act as a matchstick on a stack of hay and huge flames would spread for no apparent or conspicuous reason; put in R. Once the task is from a rich household, the servant of which, has accidently dropped the ancestral vessel of the family into the backyard well. The vessel should be drawn as soon as possible from the bottom of the sixty feet deep well.

He is offered a fortune of four rupees for this dangerous task. Before Ranga knows it, he is cajoled, fed lunch and almost pushed into the dark well. Annamalai The simpleton — This is a story narrated by the master of a house about his home- servant, gardener and watchman Annamalai. Anna is a simpleton but has a helping nature, a heart of gold and the strength of three men. He talks a lot and it is a futile exercise to teach him anything new!

He has a queer answer or another question for every question put to him. He dint show me his face. I told him- Go away, no trunk or baggage here. Swami sleeps beside his granny every night after hearing a bed time story. One day, his father challenges him to sleep alone at night. This story describes his adventurous night at the office filled with nightmares and a burglar creeping in.

A few are open ended and the conclusion is left for the reader to infer. Overall, a nice read.

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Under the Banyan Tree by R.K. Narayan

Narayan we have the theme of story-telling, isolation, hardship, escape, fear, failure, loyalty and selfishness. Somal is isolated from the world around it. The nearest bus stop is ten miles away and the town is sparsely populated with less than three hundred people. The fact that the population of Somal is so small may be important as Narayan may be suggesting that the village is a difficult place to live in. With no real amenities at hand. If anything the centre of attention is Nambi and his ability to tell stories. It is easier for them to listen to Nambi telling his stories than it is to face the realities of living in Somal.


Under the Banyan Tree and Other Stories




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