Malgudi schooldays: the adventures of Swami and his friends

Introduction by Shashi Deshpande and Illustrations by R. K. Laxman

R.K. Narayan?s classic stories about the adventures of a boy named Swami and his friends Rajam and Mani, in a sleepy and picturesque South Indian town called Malgudi, have regaled both young and old for years. Swami?s days are full of action. When he is not creating a ruckus in the classroom or preparing, in his inimitable way, for exams, he?s dreaming about running down the streets of Malgudi with the coachman?s son?s hoop; playing tricks on his grandmother; or stoning the school windows, inspired by a swadeshi demonstration. But the greatest feat of Swami and his friends lies in putting together a cricket team for the MCC (the Malgudi Cricket Club) and challenging the neighbouring Young Men?s Union to a match. Just before the match, however, things go horribly, horribly wrong, and Swami has no option but to run away from home, wanting never to return to Malgudi again . . .