Nostalgia

Ta na na Ta na Na na Naa

Ta Na na Ta na Na na Na

Ring a bell?

When I saw this book in the bookstore, I just had to pick it up. And although I am not a short stories person, this was one exception I was willing to make.

This has been one of the books I’ve most enjoyed in the recent past. And I don’t mean just reading it.  The memories that they bring back are another treat.

R.K. Narayan portrays the extraordinary stories in the ordinary life of the common man. He almost paints the stories in your head. The short stories are all witty, some are ironic and all of them very simply written. But why this book is also special to me is because of the sweet memories they bring of the old episodes of “Malgudi Days” on DD.

As I read through the stories, images of those particular episodes flash through my eyes. That was one hell of a production not to mention well cast. Whether it was Anant Nag as the Mithaiwalla or master Manjunath as little Swami, all of the characters stayed with you. My favorite episodes back then was “Swami and friends”. I really enjoyed watching them as a kid. What I didn’t know is that Malgudi is actually a fictional place and is not actually on any map.

The book and the serial definitely made a lasting impression, not to mention the cartoons by R.K. Laxman. But what I’ll probably never forget is this music. I’ve been humming this tune from the last few days. If you heard me, now you know why.