R.K.Narayan’s ‘Swami and friends’ a most loved novel was staged by Madras players very recently. I was eager to watch this play along with my children, but being a busy weekday we could not make it to the play.
‘Swami and friends’ from the series Malgudi days was televised in the late 8o’s. It dealt about the simple little 11 year old boy Swami aka Swaminathan and his friends Mani, Rajam and Pea. Swami the main protagonist is not academically oriented but his enthusiasm to play cricket, the impulsive innocent fun and mischief he and his friends wreak, his bonding with his grandma made an interesting watch. The series was deftly crafted and executed by Kannada actor Shankar Nag. Master Manjunath as Swami (for those of you who don't know kannada actors he was the junior AB of Agneepath), Girish Karnad , Girija Kasaravalli amongst others lived through their roles. The story was set in a fairy tale place called Agumbe in Shimoga district(Karnataka).
The village and the house are so similar to my husband's grandparents house @Lalgudi(near trichy in Tamilnadu)which we visit regularly. I wanted my children to watch these episodes and get a taste of the bygone times but could not find the CD’s in any shop. But googling for the same led me to the site Malgudidays.net
Now, they are enjoying 2 episodes of Malgudi days and the above novels while the other TV shows, Artemis fowl and Hardy boys have taken a back seat. What's more they even invite their paati(grandma) to watch with them.
Little wonder, this book by a celebrated Indian author and its excellent tele version is keeping everybody glued with its effortless narration and depiction of the olden times. I'm glad I introduced Malgudi to them.
This mini vacation, we are literally living @ Idyllic Malgudi with Swami, his friends and his family.
