character of Rajam.
Ans: Rajam was the son of the Superintendent of Police in Malgudi. He was a new comer at Albert Mission School. He had come to Malgudi because his father was transferred there. He was different from the rest of the boys because he was the only boy who came to school in a car, wore socks and shoes, fur cap and tie, a wonderful coat and knickers. He was rumoured to have come from a boys school in Madras. He was also a bright student who spoke English exactly ‘like the Europeans’. Only Sankar could talk to him in English and the boys felt that his English was better than Sankar's English.
He impressed the whole class on the first day at school by daring to go and sit with Mani in the last bench and also kicking him and Jabbing him when Mani tried to fight him. Swami was impressed by Rajam and tried to befriend him, but this caused a bad relationship between him and his old friends. Rajam was a young boy but he makes smart choices while dealing with his friends and soon becomes good friends with everyone at school.
character of Swaminathan
Ans: Swaminathan is the protagonist in the novel Swami and Friends. His father was a lawyer. His grandmother was like his diary, he would tell him everything about his school, his friends and the important events of the day.
He was a ten year old school boy who hated the thought of going to school. That was the reason why he hated Monday mornings.He did not care much about disappointing the adults like his parents or his school teachers. He often got into trouble with his teachers and school authorities, he also got into trouble with his parents. However, these things didnot worry him much, but it bothered him a lot to disappoint his friends. He was worried when Mani thought he favoured Rajam over him, he was also worried when his friends called him ‘tail'. But it really shattered his childhood life when he disappointed Rajam by failing to reach the day of match to play for Malgudi Cricket Club. He tried to win the favour of Rajam till the end of the story.
character of Mani.
Ans: Mani is an important character in the novel Swami and Friends. He is one of the closest friends of Swaminathan. He is described by R K Narayan as ‘the mighty good for nothing' because he was the strongest boy in the school. He had been studying in Albert Mission school for as long as the peon could remember. He always walked with pride and frightened all the boys in the school. He would always occupy the last bench in the class and sleep throughout the class hours. However, his position as the strongest boy was threatened when Rajam got admitted into the school. But later on they became very good friends and their friendship lasted throughout the story.
Mani was a weak student, so during examination, he went to the peon with some vegetables to ask him to give him suggestions on some questions that would come during the examination.
the turning point in Swaminathan’s life?
Ans:When Swaminathan left Albert Mission school it was a turning point in his life. Everything went downhill from there. Samuel ‘the pea’ became sickly, Sankar disappeared because his father had been transferred, Somu failed. Only Mani and Rajam were intact. Rajam tried to spark the good old days back by forming a cricket club- Malgudi Cricket Club with Mani and Swami. But being from a different school, Board High School, he could not come for practice on time. When he could not come for the game on the match day, Rajam felt really disappointed.
He treasured his friendship more than anything else in life. So when he ended up disappointing his friends and losing many of his friends, he turned from a happy ten year old school boy to a sad and worried serious boy. This marks the turning point in Swami’s life.
RK Narayan's understanding of child psychology?
Ans. R k Narayan brings out each character by describing their personality and bringing out their individuality. The writer describes Swaminathan as a school boy who hates Monday mornings because he hated school. His description of a strict teacher ‘fire eyed Vedanayagam', the scary school building, ‘a dismal yellow building', the headmaster with his cane, spending his time watching out of the window, punished for not being attentive in class, getting into trouble with school, teachers and his classmates shows the writers understanding of child psychology.
Swaminathan tries to change pebbles into coins, believing in miracles but it doesnt work, he makes a paper boat and puts it in a stream and enjoys watching it, he also takes part in the mass protest and rallies during political unrest at Malgudi without having a clue what it was about.
Swami does not care about disappointing his teachers or parents but he deeply cares about his friends opinion