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Under the Banyan Tree by R.K.Narayan
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Renuka
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Oct 07, 2013 11:42AM
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I'm enjoying rediscovering these stories after so many years. I'm about halfway through, and will only comment on the earlier stories so I don't spoil the later ones if others haven't read them yet."The House Opposite" is about a hermit who is tormented by what he imagines to be the debauchery in the house opposite, and is about ready to complain when the woman who lives in the house makes an offering to him one day in remembrance of her late mother. Shamed, the hermit moves away. This is such a simple story and yet it resonates with me because I've learned that we never really know what anyone else is thinking, what anyone else is like. We live such distorted lives within sometimes.
The next story, "A Horse and Two Goats," is about a poor man who only has two goats left from his once large herd. One day a foreigner stops to admire the clay statue of a horse (these are common in certain parts of South India and represent holy sites), and gets to talk with the old man. The foreigner speaks English and the old man speaks, probably, Tamil, and of course they have no idea what they're saying to each other. In the end the old man buys the horse for Rs 100 and the old man thinks he has sold his goats for the money. He runs home, but later the goats follow him.
I've had experiences like this in India, so the story resonates with me.
Narayan writes stories that are close to being parables, so sometimes the characters feel more like types than individuals, but he penetrates their thinking and dilemmas, and writes with great sympathy about their plights. The world is not kind to the Indian villager, and yet Narayan finds the sweet spot in their lives.
'A Horse and two Goats' was hilarious! read this book earlier in the year and look forward to rereading it again, thanks to this group read.
I haven't actually made a start on this yet. Have got my head stuck in a finance book. Looking forward though to getting back into fiction.
Since it's almost the end of the month, I'll add comments on a couple of stories from later in the book and then I'll move on to another book. One of my favorite stories is "Annamalai," about the man who ingratiates himself into a man's service, remains loyal through it all, and then both master and servant become touchy and the relationship ends. It's sad and funny at the same time.
In "At the Portal" a man is on his way to a committee meeting and stops to watch two squirrels, mother and child. Night is coming on and the mother squirrel is leading the way home. She makes a high jump and waits for the child to follow but he can't. She does it again and again, but he is too small. It's a simple story but Narayan makes it fascinating and poignant.
