Swami & Friends: Book Review

Ever thought of going back to your school days & re-living those good old memories? Do you still want to be a part of the carefree life as a school kid? DO NOT wait for the invention of a 'Time Machine'. Go & grab a copy of “Swami and Friends” by R.K.Narayan (RKN) to re-enter the world of school children.

RKN weaves magic through his writing & leaves the readers spellbound yearning for more. The book, being more of a collection of episodes rather than a novel per se, describes the incidents in the life of the main character, the ten year old Swami in the most interesting fashion possible. Each chapter in the book narrates an interesting tale of the pranks of Swami. Be it the joining of the new kid Rajam to their school and Rajam's induction into Swami's 'Gang' or Swami's ill-fated participation in the 'Political Rally' or Swami's bowling skills & Rajam's MCC Club and Swami running away from school, RKN transforms the reader into a 10-year old kid through his beautiful story-telling capabilities.

How could a review of 'Swami and Friends' be complete without mentioning the 2nd hero of the book, the beautiful town of Malgudi? The descriptions of the slow flowing Sarayu river, the Lawley extension, the Nallapa Grove, the Market road & various other landmarks brings life to the town of Malgudi. It will be no fault of yours if you are unable to locate the town of Malgudi in a map of India for there is no such place called as Malgudi!!! The lively (and lovely, as well) description of the imaginary town speaks volumes about the narrative skills of RKN.

If at all there is something to crib about the book, it would be the lesser number of episodes on Swami!!!!!

Final Cut: Beg, borrow or steal to get a personal copy of this book.