Read the book when I was in school but I still carry in my mind pictures that I formed from the vivid descriptions of R K Narayan of Swami and his Friends.A fantastic book which captures school days and the friendships that it generates!It is bound to remind one of his/her schooldays even though schooldays today will be different in style from the schooldays then.But the bonhomie and fun remains much the same.
Written on the backdrop of the freedom struggle it captures pretty well how the swadeshi movement had affected one and all in various manner.The touching part is that swami’s mother had to die because of the eccentric swadeshi ideals swami’s father had nurtured.The theme of the book is comparable to Tom Brown’s School Days, though the settings are different!!I would rate it as a must read book not because it has been glamourised in a TV serial but becoz its one of those memorable books you carry around in your mind and your baggage.