Under the Banyan Tree and Other Stories

by R.K. Narayan

Twenty-eight stories set in the fictional south Indian town of Malgudi, deal with people from all classes and walks of life

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, India, Indian Literature

192 pages, Paperback

Published October 10, 1994

About the author

R. K. Narayan is among the best known and most widely read Indian novelists who wrote in English.

R.K. Narayan was born in Madras, South India, in 1906, and educated there and at Maharaja's College in Mysore. His first novel, Swami and Friends and its successor, The Bachelor of Arts, are both set in the enchanting fictional territory of Malgudi and are only two out of the twelve novels he based there. In 1958 Narayan's work The Guide won him the National Prize of the Indian Literary Academy, his country's highest literary honor.

In addition to his novels, Narayan has authored five collections of short stories, including A Horse and Two Goats, Malguidi Days, and Under the Banyan Tree, two travel books, two volumes of essays, a volume of memoirs, and the re-told legends Gods, Demons and Others, The Ramayana, and the Mahabharata. In 1980 he was awarded the A.C. Benson Medal by the Royal Society of Literature and in 1982 he was made an Honorary Member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.

Most of Narayan's work, starting with his first novel Swami and Friends (1935), captures many Indian traits while retaining a unique identity of its own. He was sometimes compared to the American writer William Faulkner, whose novels were also grounded in a compassionate humanism and celebrated the humour and energy of ordinary life.

Narayan who lived till age of ninety-four, died in 2001. He wrote for more than fifty years, and published until he was eighty seven. He wrote fourteen novels, five volumes of short stories, a number of travelogues and collections of non-fiction, condensed versions of Indian epics in English, and the memoir My Days.

-Wikipedia & Amazon.co.uk

Reviews

[Fiza Pathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Under The Banyan Tree & Other Stories' are some of the greatest short stories written by R.K. Narayan after his bestselling classic 'Malgudi Days'. The collection is entertaining, a fun page turner & an excellent satire on the Indian middle class. The invigorating collection also deals with village life in South India, mostly based in the fictional South-Indian town of Malgudi. Narayan uses no discretion in the placement of these short stories because as he states in his introduction to the text, that short stories don't need to get 'better' or 'worse' with time. Thus, the collection is ingenious & unpredictable, making a reader wonder what will come next. Some short stories are a laugh out loud sensation like 'A Horse & Two Goats', 'The Roman Image', 'A Snake In The Grass', 'Old Man of the Temple' & many others. 'Another Community' reminds us of the terrible 1947 Partition riots in India & Pakistan which is superbly penned by R.K. Narayan paying homage to that period in Indian history which none of us even today can forget. 'Nitya' talks about the revolt of a young man against orthodoxy while a village water tank guard in 'The Watchman' tries to prevent a stranger from committing suicide in his tank! 'A Breath of Lucifer' is partly fiction as well as autobiographical in nature concerning the ridiculous male nurse who attended to R.K. Narayan when the latter had an eye operation. So also is 'Annamalai' concerning Narayan's simple minded Man Friday. 'House Opposite' tells the familiar Buddhist folktale of the orthodox ascetic living opposite the home of a prostitute but in the style of Narayan's usual hilarious satire; this then turns an otherwise serious story to a comedy at the deluded ascetic's expense. These & many more treasures one will find when one reads 'Under the Banyan Tree & Other Stories'. The title of the collection comes in fact from the very last story in this collection which presents a village story teller who is forced by age to retire from story-telling. Far be it for those of us who are die hard fans of R.K. Narayan to ever think that his writings can ever get out-dated or go out of fashion! Never! As long as India with it's multiculturalism survives, R.K. Narayan's Malgudi characters will live in our hearts forever. I personally feel that this collection is better than the famous 'Malgudi Days' short story collection that won Narayan international fame. I love all the stories in this collection especially the comic tales. My favorite is 'A Snake in the Grass' which tells the tale of a wayward cobra who is playing truant with an insane middle class family & their laid back gardener. The gardener reminded me of my own recently deceased gardener who was eccentric, lazy, a grumbler & who could never catch a centipede, let alone if he ever saw a cobra! Also, 'Uncle's Letters' found me smiling all through it because I too have a strong connection with the many maternal bachelor uncles in my family. Those of us who love the famous 'Talkative Man' of Malgudi fame will find him here in this collection as well. I love the Talkative Man & all the escapades & problems he gets himself into which makes me laugh out loud. If you want to have a good laugh as well as read a collection which can really give you a slight glimpse into South Indian middle & lower middle class life, then this is the short story collection for you. Those who simply want to read a simply written & yet gripping short story collection regardless of it's content then this is the book you should pick next. Undoubtedly the collection is highly recommended by me & it should be on every Indian literature student's bookshelf. R.K. Narayan is my all time favorite fiction writer & he holds the roost in Indian literature in English with other stalwarts like Mulk Raj Anand & Raja Rao. All three were the first set of early 20th century Indian writers who wrote their novels & short stories in the English Language thus, creating a revolution of excellent prose. I can read Narayan's books over & over again & can never really get fed up. Besides, I'm a die hard fan of short stories, I prefer them to novels or novellas. From pensions to snake charmers, from a crazy watchmen catching chickens to a little boy who bags a house-breaker by accident, from an enterprising toddler to a mouse who is tried by a 'jury' all this & more hilarity in 'Under the Banyan Tree & Other Stories' by R.K. Narayan, the Grand-Old Man of Malgudi. Grab your copy of this book today! Narayan gets 5 stars from me!

[Vikas Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful collection of 28 stories, this is R. K. Narayan at his best. All the short stories have a different theme and background and hence give the reader great reading pleasure. The stories build up stress and anxiety within the short format and the soothing end sums up the plot beautifully. Great read

[Hazeanni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peeks to Southern India retro life!

This is my first read-book from the legendary R.K. Narayan. When his literary admirers included Graham Greene; that conveyed something about Narayan's storytelling. So here I am, writing my review after week-long of enjoyable reading. I took my sweet time to read it. A few chapters a day. Less is more to me; when offerings are so flavourful.

This book is NOT a disappointment at all. His simple and clear language style affected characters to stand out with superb narrative. Stories weaved with hidden humour and ironies with unexpected twists in the end.

What I found even more interesting than these 28 short stories are; his 3 pages of introduction. According to him, the process of story-writing shouldn't be stated theoretically. I found it very agreeable because that took away the enjoyment of storytelling. Lets everyone developed their own style. Wordsmith creativity shouldn't be restricted by theories.

Short stories in here, depicting everyday life in various settings, circumstances and social strata. It's a good choice to glimpse what life looked like for the ordinary people and what customs mattered to them.

Reading this made me reminisce my favourites Tamil TV series directed by K Balanchander. I used to watch it during weekdays afternoon in late 90s.

I felt closely related to All Avoidable Talks in Chapter 14. A goldsmith shop salesperson was told by his friend who knows things about astrology to avoid all unnecessary talks and arguments. That's because of his nakshatra (birth star) was extremely inauspicious for communication for that particular day.

I was a jeweler (gemologist & designer) sometimes ago as you could see in my profile. That time, I was advised to brace whatever coming for the upcoming 2 months because if not; the outcome will not be in my favour. I understood my comrade's predicament here on how to beat the inauspicious star transit. This chapter resonated with me.

My 3 top stories.
1) The Roman Image
A narrative by an archeological assistant upon discovery of ancient broken stone image of Emperor Tiberius on a riverbed. A humorous upset!

2) Four rupees
Depicting an odd job man who had to retrieve an heirloom brass pot inside a well at 60 ft depth. A miserably funny!

3) Flavour of Coconut
What will happen to a family when they were terrorized by a rodent creature? Those who went through it knew what mouse capable of, and havoc it created. Mindboggling sometimes.

[Padmashree · Rating 4 out of 5]

ಆಲದ ಮರದ ಕೆಳಗೆ.... 28 ಸಣ್ಣ ಸಣ್ಣ ಕಥೆಗಳ ಸಂಕಲನ. ನಾನಿದನ್ನ ಈಗ 10 ತಿಂಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ ಮೊದಲ ಬಾರಿಗೆ ಓದಿದ್ದೆ. ಬಹುಶಃ ಈ ಪುಸ್ತಕವನ್ನೇ ಮೊದಲು ಓದಿದ್ದು. ಏನೇನೂ ಇಷ್ಟವಾಗಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಬೋರಿಂಗ್ ಸ್ಟೋರಿಸ್ ಅನ್ನಿಸಿತ್ತು. ಮುಖ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಈ ಕಥಾಸಂಕಲನದ ವೈಶಿಷ್ಟ್ಯತೆಯೂ ತಿಳಿದಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ ನನಗೆ. ಸ್ವಲ್ಪನೂ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂದು 2 ಸ್ಟಾರ್ ಕೊಟ್ಟು ಸುಮ್ಮನಾಗಿದ್ದೆ. ಈಗ ಅದೇ ಕಥೆ ಹೊಸ ಅನುಭವವನ್ನು ಕೊಡುತ್ತಿದೆಯೆಂದರೆ ನನಗೂ ನಂಬೋಕೆ ಕಷ್ಟವೇ. ಇನ್ನು ಇದನ್ನ ಓದಿದ ಮೇಲೆ ನಾನು ಕೆಟ್ಟದಾಗಿದೆ ಅಂತ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿರುವ ಉಳಿದ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳನ್ನು ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಓದಬೇಕಿದೆ.

[Deepa Swaminathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The creator of the fictional village Malgudi- R.K. 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. Here is my take on one of his less known masterpieces- Under the Banyan Tree and Other Stories.

This book has a collection of twenty eight delightful short stories of different colours, revolving around the ancient village - Malgudi. Such is the magic of story- teller R.K.N. that you would instantly be transported into the village and start living the lives of the characters- Be it the 70 year old Muni or young Nitya or the dog Chippy!

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. The vow claimed that Nitya’s head be shaven in the ancestral temple of the family in a nearby village. 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. Nitya tries striking deals like offering 4 locks of the best available hair on his head and tries justifying that God also wouldn’t be too interested in keeping a huge collection of hair!

2. 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. Muni’s meager assets are his two frails goats. 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. What follows is some hilarious miscommunication between the English speaking foreigner and the Tamil speaking Muni, in which, neither person understands the other’s language!

3. 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. His little ‘office’ where he does some serious thinking is a wooden box which also acts as a store room for his collection of ‘valuable’ things as bits of coloured thread, discarded book covers and anything that catches his fancy. 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!

4. 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!

5. Another Community (A story on communal tensions) - This touching story is based in the month of October of 1947. It depicts the tension that was prevalent amongst different communities. Our author has taken care to not mention the name of any particular religion or sect but has referred to them as ‘One Community’ and ‘Another Community’. The protagonist is referred to as ‘Our friend’ so as to not reveal his background. ‘Our friend’ has a family of five to support and is the sole bread earner. 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.K.’s words, the times when a good action in a far-off place did not find an echo but an evil one did possess that power.

6. Four Rupees (A Satirical Comedy) – Ranga earns his living by doing peculiar tasks for villagers. 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.

7. 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! One of his greatest achievements in life is that he has learnt to pick up the ‘telepoon’ and answer it! He has a queer answer or another question for every question put to him. For example, if he receives the phone in the master’s absence, he enthusiastically mentions on the master’s return, “There was a telepoon for you sami”.
“Who was it?”
“How could I know? He dint show me his face.”
“Did you ask his name?”
“He said, ‘Trunk call’. I told him- Go away, no trunk or baggage here.”

8. A Hero (Adventure) - A collection of RKN’s short stories would be incomplete without one on Swami. Swami sleeps beside his granny every night after hearing a bed time story. One day, his father challenges him to sleep alone at night. Despite Swami’s mild attempts of resistance, father commands him to sleep in his office. This story describes his adventurous night at the office filled with nightmares and a burglar creeping in.

I wouldn’t say all stories deserve a 10 on 10, some are less interesting. A few are open ended and the conclusion is left for the reader to infer. Overall, a nice read. 3.5. out of 5.

[Meghana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually pick up a couple of short story books a year, just to give myself a break from all the novels; and read them on and off, the main selling point for them being that I do not have to remember the characters (and their names!) for long!

But this one was hard to put down and I pretty much read this one in one sitting. R K Narayan's collection of 28 nuggets of wit and wisdom make the reader contemplate and reflect on his/her life probably a bit more than he originally intended.

Though the stories seem to take place in different times and locations, there is still a feeling of a common thread tying them all together - something I also noticed in Murakami Haruki's After the Quake - what this is, I never found out, but the characters and plots all seem to work hand in hand.

Some stories I could relate to more than I had imagined (like in Nitya, the titualar character who does not want to give in to his parents' crazy demands in the name of superstitions), some were funny - like the prisoner's plight a mouse! in The flavour of coconut), some were heartbreaking tales of the working class - The evening gift and Annamalai , some served satisfying poetic justice - A career and Half a rupee's worth.

This is a very well rounded collection with something for every mood.

[Chethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the Kannada version of this book translated by Dr. H Ramachandra Swamy and it was an absolute delight. I have read Malgudi days by R K Narayan and have watched the episodes of Malgudi days as well. Yet, reading this book (in my mother tongue) made me connect with the characters and the plot on a deeper level.

The credits here go to the original author, R K Narayan, and the translator, Dr. H Ramachandra Swamy as well. The book has been brought into Kannada texts in such a way that I felt as though it was originally written in Kannada itself.

The thing that connects people to R K Narayan's stories (original or translated) is that they are all centered around the general masses. The pleasure and pains associated with the daily life of the common people is portrayed by the characters in the stories. There is also a satirical play on the behavior and the constructs of the society, many of which we experience in our daily life.

Of the 28 short stories included in the book, I liked the following very much - Roman PutthaLi, Ondu Jeevana Maarga, PaaLuDegulada Muduka, Innondu Samaajada Janaru, Sooryana Haage, Chippi, Aadabaarada Maathe Illa, Sanjeya Udugore, Onakobbariya Swaada (This is particularly interesting since the narration is from 2 wonderful perspectives and it took me a while to guess what was actually going on), Ardha Rupaayiya Moulya, Aalada Marada Kelage.

[Amrendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book contains 28 short stories which are engaging but not at par with some of the writers other works like The Guide or Malgudi Days. Still, the book is a collection of enjoyable and at times, poignant stories.

[Rishabh Shukla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best ones -
Annamalai
Under the Banyan Tree
A Horse and Two Goats
The Roman Image
Old Man of the Temple
Another Community
A Breath of Lucifer
Half a Rupee Worth

[Swagatam Deva Nath · Rating 5 out of 5]

R. K. Narayan mixes different masalas to make a perfect Recipe. Storytelling of utmost simplicity. A must read.

[Becca Stuttard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing stories, interesting to learn about aspects of southern Indian culture from this pov. All from the perspective of male characters which I thought was a bit outmoded for an anthology of short stories published in the 80s.

[Rishi Prakash · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a collection of twenty eight delightful short stories of different flavour revolving around the ancient village – Malgudi. He is a master of short story which clearly comes out in this book. Every single story is unique and must read for the readers.

His principal subjects are universal ones: dissension between husband and wife, parent and child, employer and employee; the difficulty that people have earning a living, finding a mate, and maintaining a home; the growth of boys into young men, and of young men into old. In Narayan's novels and stories, love blooms and dies; families are happy, then sad; businesses flourish and fail. None of us are gods, in short, so we might as well recognize our common humanity and be decent to one another.

I can easily dedicate 2013 to the great RKN as I completed the entire work of fiction which he had written and I must say that he is one of the greatest story tellers of all time for sure.

[Damayanti (Dimpy) · Rating 5 out of 5]

RK Narayan is a sensational short story writer. Even the most mundane daily happenings are grippingly told. My favourite is A Horse and Two Goats, but the whole collection is so filling. He's able to compress entire worlds into a few pages, to convey the spirit of a person in a paragraph and to make you laugh or frown in no more than a phrase -- that's not an exaggeration. This is punchy, witty, vivid writing with great dialogue and description, and it feels ageless. Some of these stories are abrupt, some are meandering, and some are "plotless" in the conventional story arc sense, but there is not a wasted word or boring moment.

[Jeff Hobbs]

Read so far:

Nitya --2
House opposite --2
A horse and two goats --3
The roman image --
*The watchman --
*A career --
*Old man of the temple --
A hero --
Dodu --
Another community --3
*Like the sun --
Chippy --
*Uncle's letters --
All avoidable talk --
A snake in the grass --
*The evening gift --
*A breath of Lucifer --
*Annamalai --
*The shelter --
The mute companions --
At the portal --
Four rupees --
Flavour of coconut --
*Fruition at forty --
Crime and punishment --
*Half a rupee worth --
The antidote --
Under the banyan tree--3
***
*Uncle --
*Green sari --

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book of short stories was interesting to me because it showed that stories don't have to have a definite ending to be good. These are short incidents in larger stories that continue in readers' minds. In each story one character is involved in a struggle and developed . It is fun to read about Indian life.

[Aanu · Rating 4 out of 5]

RKN sir's short stories could do to you what so many hundreds of pages could not.
It makes us feel for characters, laugh at them, along with them..
Best company for a rainy indoor day or at journeys:)

[Ashish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another short story collection.

[Kadri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully written stories.

[Udit Nair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again a masterpiece by R.K Narayan.

[Akshat Shukla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Less Malgudi but same narayan,
Absolutely wonderful read.

[Abhishek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poignant, nostalgic, humorous, enchanting all of this in an unassuming style of R. K. Narayan
A must read story collection