The BEST episodes of Malgudi Days

#1 - Swamy And Friends VIII

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/6/1987

The search for Swamy begins in Malgudi. Swamy’s father runs everywhere in search of him but could not find him. Swamy losing his way in the forest, is scared by the terrible sound and roaring of the animals and he falls asleep on the way. A cartman finds Swamy and takes him to the forest officer. He succeeds in finding the address of Swamy and sends message to the D.S.P., Rajam’s father at Malgudi, about Swamy. On Sunday, the cricket match starts between M.C.C. & Y.M.U. Y.M.U. bats first and no bowler succeeds in restricting the Y.M.U. team scoring. They score a big total and ask M.C.C. to bat. But Rajam’s team fails to get the runs and they lose the match. Swamy returns home with his father to his mother and grandmother. Thinking the day as Saturday, Swamy returns Malgudi with a lot of hope of winning the match against Y.M.U., the next day. But he was late. They were already lost the match. Rajam is very angry with Swamy as he is the main cause for their defeat. Swamy tries to meet Rajam and explain the situation and ask for his forgiveness. But his attempts are in vain. Then he learns from Mani that Rajam’s father is transferred to Thiruchirapalli and they are leaving the next day. Swamy somehow manages to see Rajam in the Railway station and give him a book as gift. Swamy bics farewell to Rajam with his eyes full of tears.

#2 - Swamy And Friends IV

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/8/1987

During the holidays, Swamy wishes to play the hoop. He enquires the cartman for spare cycle wheel. The cartman says, he can make a new hoop for Five Rupees as he does not have the money to pay for the hoop, Swamy pleads with him to give some idea for having the hoop. The greedy cartman agrees to mint the money by some magic by putting some copper coins along with some special herbs in a pot and performing Yoga in the night and convert the copper coins into silver coins. For this he wants six copper coins. Swamy somehow manages to give him eighteen paise. But later the cartman refuses to recognize Swamy and says, Swamy has not given any money. After discussing with Mani and Rajam, Swamy plans to kidnap the son of the cartman, so that he can get the wheel or the money he paid. But their plan fails.

#3 - Swamy And Friends V

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/15/1987

Swamy is now possessed by the patriotic fever to liberate India from the British, listening to the speech of a leader. The crowd protests against the arrest of Malgudi’s great leader, Gowri Shankar, by boycotting the Lancashire cloth and burning it and there by directly hitting the economy of British. In response to this call Swamy pulls off his Khadder cap, thinking it as Lancashire cloth, and puts onto the fire. In response to the call given by the speaker to close down the offices and the institutions to protest the arrest of their leader, Swamy throws some stones on the window of the principal’s room and breaks the glass. The Head master and the peon observe the mischief. The next day the Head master punishes the students for their absence on the previous day. Swamy is severely caned for breaking the glasses and he comes out of the school and refuse to go to that school again. The he joins the Board school, the only other school in Malgudi.

#4 - Swamy And Friends II

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/25/1987

Srinivasan, the father of Swamy insists that Swamy study at all times as his examination is nearing. Swamy invites Rajam to his house and Swamy’s friends Somu, Shankar and others make fun of him as “Rajam’s Tail”. This results in a quarrel between Swamy and Mutter. Mani interferes and tries to console them. As Somu insults Mani, as he is very proud of his club, thus leads to a fight between them and Principal interferes and send them to their classes.Rajam invites home his friends including Mani and Swamy. He pleads with everyone to give up enemity and become friends and he offers them lot of gifts and snacks.

#5 - Swamy And Friends VI

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 4/22/1987

Swamy finds his new school more problematic than Albert Mission School as he has lot of home work to do and also the drill class which interferes with the new found passion — Cricket. Swamy and his friends start a cricket team and name it a M.C.C. — the Malgudi Cricket Club with Rajam as Captain and challenges the home team Y.M.U. — the Young Man’s Union cricket team. Swamy even misses his drill class to practice cricket with the aim of defeating the Y.M.U. team in their first match.

#6 - Swamy And Friends VII

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/29/1987

With only a week left for the match, Swamy could not come to practice on time due to the drill class. At last they find a way of solving this problem. According to this, Rajam has to visit the Head master of Board school and request him to exempt Swamy from the drill class till the match is over. But this does not work. Swamy goes to a doctor to get a false medical certificate saying that, he is suffering from severe Delirium and needs rest and that he be exempted from the scouting and drill classes. As Swamy has a sound health, the doctor refuses to give false certificate. But, promises that he will talk to the Head master and allow him to leave the school at 4.30 thus help him to practice cricket. But the doctor couldn’t keep up the promise. By his constant absence for drill classes and scouting, the Head master canes Swamy severely. With severe pain Swamy snatches the cane from the Head Master and runs away from school with his books. Then he rushes to Rajam’s school and informs him about the incident and promises him to meet in the evening at the ground. He now has another problem of facing his father. Now that he has come out of Board school and he cannot go back to Mission school again. He looks very depressed and grumbling all the way enter the forest without his knowledge and loses his way.

#7 - Swamy And Friends III

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/1/1987

There is only a week left for the examination. Mani is little confused with the lessons. He tries to get some hints, the questions that is expected in the examination by offering some fruits and vegetables to the clerk. But the clerk refuses to tell anything saying that, he does not know about the questions that is prepared for the exam. The clerk advises Mani to study all the lessons and be prepared for the exam. They finish the examination and come out with joy as they have two months holidays, before them. But, Swamy’s father insists that Swamy study the lessons of next year’s syllabus.

#8 - Swamy And Friends I

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/17/1987

Swamy is the son of a traditional Hindu Lawyer – W. T. Srinivasan. Swamy is studying in First form in a Mission school. He was insulted by his friends Somu, Shankar & Mani for taking the matter to his father about twisting of his ears by Christian Scripture teacher as Swamy protests against the insulting reference to the Hindu religion made by his teacher. Rajam, a new comer, son of Deputy Superintendent of Police joins the Mission school. Everybody admires Rajam as he is a brilliant student and well dressed, self confident and above all is the son of D.S.P. But Mani hates Rajam and he wants to humble him but later become friends.

#9 - The Gold Belt (सोने का कमरबंद)

Season 3 - Episode 15 - Aired 7/29/1987

The Gold Belt is a story, which revolves around the evil system of dowry. After years of searching, Sambasivan finds a groom for his daughter who is right in all aspects. Moreover their horoscopes are a perfect match too. The wedding is fixed and grand celebration takes place and people are busy making last minute preparations. Everything seems to be going fine, and the auspicious moment nears, but there is no sign of the groom or his parents. A worried Sambasivan goes to invite them, but something terrible awaits him. The groom’s relatives refuse to attend the wedding unless a gold belt is also given to the bride as part of the wedding dowry. Sambasivan who has already spent all his life savings and has even taken a loan for the wedding is heartbroken. Sastri, a close friend of Sambasivan, comes to the rescue and rushes out to buy a gold belt. The wedding goes off smoothly and the groom’s family leaves along with the bride. Now Sambasivan is worried about how to pay for the gold belt. But good news awaits him. Sambasivan’s daughter proves to be smart: she has made her new husband agree to pay for the gold belt without the knowledge of his parents. They all conclude that they really have a smart daughter and they are happy!

#10 - Vendor of Sweets (मिठाईवाला) - I

Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/13/1987

Jagan, an orthodox Hindu Brahmin and owner of a sweet meat shop, has come up the hard way in life following Gandhian principle and taking part in Freedom struggle movement. His belief in hand spun cloth that he wears, signifies purity in all formats of life, is totally disapproved by his own son who not only discontinues his education, goes to America, marries a girl of his choice and returns back home which causes an upheaval in Jagan and his friends Narasimha’s life. Jagan develops an affection for his daughter – in – law though she is an American and feels Mali is not giving the due attention his wife deserves. In earlier days Jagan looses his wife because of his involvement in freedom struggle movement and not being able to spend the much needed time with his wife which has caused a repulsion in the attitude of Mali against his father. Mali’s desire to start a story writing machine factory by the know – how from America and asking his father to invest on this venture throws the entire gear of “Malgudi Thinking” and this friction splits the family and Jagan starts living in seclusion in his own house. Ultimately Jagan wants to retire from active working at which time he is informed that his son Mali is caught by the police for drunkenness and has deserted his American wife also. Jagan refuses to assist Mali to get out of the police clutches and advises Narasimha, his friend and philosopher to take care of Mali’s wife and to provide her the passage money so that she can return back home. The conflict between the old and young generation, the ideas and ideals and the generation gap makes ‘Vendor of Sweets’ a story to be remembered for all times to come.

#11 - Dodu (दोड़ू)

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 9/9/1987

Dodu is a sweet touching story about a little boy who wants to make some money to buy little things he fancies. Being smart and enterprising, Dodu decides to use the pocket money his uncle has given him to buy stamps and sell them. His family members who buy the stamps fail to pay him. Thus making him incur losses. Once a stranger offers to buy stamps, but starts a fight when he discovers that Dodu is making a profit over the stamp. Thus ends Dodu’s business venture. One day he discovers that people buy writings done on palm leaves. Without knowing that the ones they buy are of historical importance and are heritages of the past, Dodu in all his innocence scribble on a palm leaf and takes it to the archeologists. The archeologists happens to be a kind and warm human being and he indulges Dodu by buying the leaf for a few coins. Dodu is happy, he walks away, munching on peanuts. R.K. Narayan is at his best when he writes about children and little dreams and aspirations. Dodu is one touching example.

#12 - The Lawley Road (लॉली रोड) – Part 1

Season 2 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/13/1988

‘Lawley Road’ is a charming story that begins with the Talkative man, an endearing character created by R.K. Narayan. In the episode, the Talkative Man recounts to his friends the incident of how he came to have a house in the New Extension in Malgudi though he is a mere freelance journalist. The story is set just after India had got her independence. A blanket seller, who used to sell blankets to the British, wins the election and becomes a Municipality chairman. Having won the election, the new chairman want to do things that will earn him posterity. His ambition leads to a number of hilarious incidents; including changing the names of the streets and causing utter confusion. The chairman however, is still not satisfied. He is on the look out to do more when he realizes that though India has got her independence, Sir Frederick, a British officer’s Statue stands proudly in the center of Malgudi. He wants to bring it down immediately. A plan to evacuate the statue is set in motion but the statue made out of metal proves to be a burden. Finally the Talkative man offers to take it if he is given it free of cost. The chairman agrees. The Talkative Man manages the Herculean task of bringing the statue to his home, but it gets stuck in the doorway. He and his family can neither get in to the house nor go out. His wife gets angry at the entire incident and leaves for her father’s house. In the meantime, the chairman gets a letter from the government saying Sir Frederick Lawley was a supporter of India’s Independence movement and that an error has been committed by removing his statues. The government also instructs that Sir Frederick Lawley Statue should immediately be reinstalled with honor. But the statue is stuck in the doorway of the Talkative man’s house. The talkative Man refuses to give back the statue. He ultimately strikes a deal with the chairman and sells his house along with the Sir Frederick Lawley’s Statue to the government as a Na

#13 - Vendor of Sweets (मिठाईवाला) - VIII

Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 7/1/1987

#14 - Vendor Of Sweets (मिठाईवाला) - VII

Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 6/24/1987

#15 - Vendor Of Sweets (मिठाईवाला) - VI

Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/14/1987

#16 - Vendor Of Sweets (मिठाईवाला) - V

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/10/1987

#17 - Vendor Of Sweets (मिठाईवाला) - IV

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/3/1987

Jagan, an orthodox Hindu Brahmin and owner of a sweet meat shop, has come up the hard way in life following Gandhian principle and taking part in Freedom struggle movement. His belief in hand spun cloth that he wears, signifies purity in all formats of life, is totally disapproved by his own son who not only discontinues his education, goes to America, marries a girl of his choice and returns back home which causes an upheaval in Jagan and his friends Narasimha’s life. Jagan develops an affection for his daughter — in — law though she is an American and feels Mali is not giving the due attention his wife deserves. In earlier days Jagan looses his wife because of his involvement in freedom struggle movement and not being able to spend the much needed time with his wife which has caused a repulsion in the attitude of Mali against his father. Mali’s desire to start a story writing machine factory by the know — how from America and asking his father to invest on this venture throws the entire gear of “Malgudi Thinking” and this friction splits the family and Jagan starts living in seclusion in his own house. Ultimately Jagan wants to retire from active working at which time he is informed that his son Mali is caught by the police for drunkenness and has deserted his American wife also. Jagan refuses to assist Mali to get out of the police clutches and advises Narasimha, his friend and philosopher to take care of Mali’s wife and to provide her the passage money so that she can return back home. The conflict between the old and young generation, the ideas and ideals and the generation gap makes ‘Vendor of Sweets’ a story to be remembered for all times to come.

#18 - Vendor Of Sweets (मिठाईवाला) III

Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/27/1987

Jagan, an orthodox Hindu Brahmin and owner of a sweet meat shop, has come up the hard way in life following Gandhian principle and taking part in Freedom struggle movement. His belief in hand spun cloth that he wears, signifies purity in all formats of life, is totally disapproved by his own son who not only discontinues his education, goes to America, marries a girl of his choice and returns back home which causes an upheaval in Jagan and his friends Narasimha’s life. Jagan develops an affection for his daughter – in – law though she is an American and feels Mali is not giving the due attention his wife deserves. In earlier days Jagan looses his wife because of his involvement in freedom struggle movement and not being able to spend the much needed time with his wife which has caused a repulsion in the attitude of Mali against his father. Mali’s desire to start a story writing machine factory by the know – how from America and asking his father to invest on this venture throws the entire gear of “Malgudi Thinking” and this friction splits the family and Jagan starts living in seclusion in his own house. Ultimately Jagan wants to retire from active working at which time he is informed that his son Mali is caught by the police for drunkenness and has deserted his American wife also. Jagan refuses to assist Mali to get out of the police clutches and advises Narasimha, his friend and philosopher to take care of Mali’s wife and to provide her the passage money so that she can return back home. The conflict between the old and young generation, the ideas and ideals and the generation gap makes ‘Vendor of Sweets’ a story to be remembered for all times to come.

#19 - Vendor Of Sweets (मिठाईवाला) - II

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 5/20/1987

agan, an orthodox Hindu Brahmin and owner of a sweet meat shop, has come up the hard way in life following Gandhian principle and taking part in Freedom struggle movement. His belief in hand spun cloth that he wears, signifies purity in all formats of life, is totally disapproved by his own son who not only discontinues his education, goes to America, marries a girl of his choice and returns back home which causes an upheaval in Jagan and his friends Narasimha’s life. Jagan develops an affection for his daughter — in — law though she is an American and feels Mali is not giving the due attention his wife deserves. In earlier days Jagan looses his wife because of his involvement in freedom struggle movement and not being able to spend the much needed time with his wife which has caused a repulsion in the attitude of Mali against his father. Mali’s desire to start a story writing machine factory by the know — how from America and asking his father to invest on this venture throws the entire gear of “Malgudi Thinking” and this friction splits the family and Jagan starts living in seclusion in his own house. Ultimately Jagan wants to retire from active working at which time he is informed that his son Mali is caught by the police for drunkenness and has deserted his American wife also. Jagan refuses to assist Mali to get out of the police clutches and advises Narasimha, his friend and philosopher to take care of Mali’s wife and to provide her the passage money so that she can return back home. The conflict between the old and young generation, the ideas and ideals and the generation gap makes ‘Vendor of Sweets’ a story to be remembered for all times to come.

#20 - Annamalai (अन्नामलई) – Part 2

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/9/1988

‘Annamalai’ is a touching story of a warm and gentle worker who starts to work for a writer under very strange circumstances. The writer wants peace but is unable to bear the racquet the nearby lorry depot makes. The lorry owner gives him a choice of moving to a peaceful place and even lends him one of his lorries to move. One of the movers happens to be Annamalai who has been working as an indenture laborer for the lorry owner. Annamalai decides to stay back at the writers home. The writer and Annamalai develop a beautiful relationship. Annamalai does many things; cooks, guards the house but most of the time takes care of the garden. Annamalai is an uneducated person, but has a strong sense of morals and ethics. One day, Annamalai finds out that a tailor who owes him money in his village is cheating him and his family. Annamalai requests the writer for a 10 day leave, but the writer refuses as he has begun to become dependent on him. Instead the writer offers him money. But Annamalai is not so much bothered about money as he is about being cheated. So, he begs him to give him leave but to no use. Finally, Annamalai decides to leave without the writer’s permission. Assuring the writer that he is not a thief and telling him that he has taken only is belonging, Annamalai leaves. After many months, the writer gets a letter from Annamalai asking him some financial help. The writer sends him more than he had asked for, hoping he will come back. One day as the writer sits writing, the sound of the gate opening is heard. He sees Annamalai is back.

#21 - The Snake Song (साँप का राग)

Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 8/26/1987

Snake Song is an incident that occurs in the Talkative Man’s life. He recounts an interesting and gripping anecdote to his friends when an argument starts about the difference between extraordinary music and mediocre music. The story unfolds with the Talkative Man having harbored ambitions of becoming a flautist and how it all came to an end. As per the traditional system of Gurushishya parampara, the Talkative Man, an orphan, had become the disciple of a famous music Guru. Just when he had mastered the art of playing the flute, an incident occurs in his life that shatters his dreams. One day, the Talkative Man turns away a hungry mendicant, as he is too busy practicing. The Mendicant loves the music, but goes away hunger — stricken cursing that this will be the last time the Talkative Man will ever play the flute. As the Talkative Man continue to practice the Punnaga Varali, the raga of the snakes, a real snake comes in and haunts him to continue playing non- stop till he drops out of sheer exhaustion. The Guru tells him that unless he manages to be forgiven by the mendicant he can never play the flute again. Thus ends the dreams of the Talkative Man of becoming a flutist. The story, like all R.K. Narayan’s masterpieces, t ells us that ambition alone is not enough to master an art, but being humane and compassionate is equally important in achieving one’s goals in life.

#22 - The Antidote (अंधविश्वास)

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 9/2/1987

The Antidote’ is a humorous tale that takes place entirely in the backdrops of a film shoot and its crew. The protagonist of the story, Gopal is also the hero of the Tele – film. The day of the shoot coincidentally happens to be his birthday. The scene that is to be shot on that day is of the hero’s death. But ironically the hero’s astrologer has forewarned him that he is not supposed to do anything inauspicious on that particular day. The hero requests, pleads and even begs the director, the scriptwriter and the producer to shoot the scene on some other day. But due to various constraints they refuse to abide by his wishes and insist on shooting it that very day. Terror stricken to the enact a death scene. Gopal finds a solution by winking at the camera at the last minute. This goes unnoticed by the camera man and the director. Gopal’s duplicity is revealed when they all preview the rushes. But everything ends well with the director forgiving Gopal and they decide to re – shoot the scene. The Antidote’ dwells lightly on people’s faith in superstitions and how by twisting events and circumstances everyone can be happy.

#23 - Minister Without Portfolio & Korean Grass

Season 2 - Episode 21 - Aired 9/16/1987

Minister without portfolio & Korean Grass is a hilarious political farce with R.K. Narayan’s unique satirical touch. The story is a series of funny events that take place around a Minister who happens to hold no portfolio. Having no portfolio also means a minister has no importance. Yet he wants to make himself useful and appear important. The incongruity of his position is reflected in the fact that he has to inaugurate, of all things, a crematorium. With plenty of time on his hands and nothing much to do, the minister plans all kinds of schemes which are of no worth to anyone. One such scheme is that of importing Korean grass, to make the landscape beautiful. His secretary plays along with the minister’s idiotic plans adding to the comical situation. Another one is to investigate the death of a child by a tiger in the zoo. His superiors always thwart the minister’s plan. It ends happily when the Chief Minister’s far off relatives dies, and the Minister without Portfolio has to inaugurate the crematorium with the dead body. He feels important that at least he is inaugurating the crematorium with an important, thigh dead, person.

#24 - Neighbour’s Help (पड़ौसी की मदद)

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/18/1987

The Neighbour’s help is a beautiful story that portrays true friendship never dies. Ekambaram and Ram are childhood friends: they have grown up together, and even got married around the same time, Ekambaram has a large family and find it difficult to manage on his meager lawyer’s income. However, Ram has inherited his father’s business, has a small family and is prosperous. One day, Ekambaram dies, leaving the family’s gold jewellery in Ram’s charge till such a time his son grown up. Ram is helpful and starts to give money to Ekambram’s family and educates his children. But soon his businessman’s instinct takes over and he thinks, he should start charging interest. One day when he sits down to calculate the interest in the quite of his farmhouse, Ekambaram’s ghost comes and taunts him about being greedy. Ram is shaken. He goes back home and tell his wife about Ekambaram’s ghostly visit. His wife laughs it off saying that it’s his own conscience that’s telling him not to be selfish and she advises not o be greedy and not to charge interest. Ram realizes his folly and makes it up to Ekambaram’s family helping his son get job. He returns the jewellery that has been his custody, and also gives them some money. Ram’s guilt conscience is appeased and he lives happily ever after.

#25 - Salt & Saw Dust (नमक और चीनी) – Part 1

Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/25/1987

‘Salt & Stardust’ is a light story that reflects a young couple’s dreams and ambitions. Swamy works in a factory and Veena is a housewife. Veena is a bad cook, so Swamy cooks everyday before going to work. Veena harbors dreams of becoming a writer and Swamy brings her a notebook to write. Many days and months pass, and Veena has not progressed much with her story. Finally, with the help of Swamy, Veena manages to complete a story. The story is a comedy and tells the tale of a Chinese dentist who falls in love with his toothless patient and how they get married. Swamy is a very good cook, and he has a brilliant idea. He suggest that the story should not merely mention the grand wedding but also give details of what food was served at the banquet with details of every dish. He also suggests that the recipe of the food served should form a detailed portion for people to appreciate the book. Finally they send it to the publishers. The story ends hilariously when the publishers want to print only the recipes and not the story! Thus, Veena who does not know how to cook becomes a famous recipe writer with the help of her husband Swamy!