Rk narayans short stories pdf files

EMBED for wordpress. Want more? Advanced embedding details, examples, and help! A collection of short stories from pre-independent India. There are no reviews yet. Be the first one to write a review. He went straight to Ramanujam's house, knocked on the door and shouted : " Postman, sir, postman. Happy father! After all these years of prayers!

Don't complain that it is a daughter. Daughters are God's gift, you know. Kamakshi lovely name! Ah, so shy! Here is your grandfather's card asking for your photo. Why should he want it, unless it be. Ramanujam looked worried after reading it. The postman asked : " I hope it's good news? Ramanujam said : " My father-in-law thinks I am not sufficiently active in finding a husband for my daughter.

He has tried one or two places and failed. He thinks I am very indifferent. But money is not everything. Horoscopes do not agree. They are demanding too much. Evidently they, do not approve of her appearance. She looks like a queen. Unless one is totally blind.

Rk narayans short stories pdf files

The season would be closing, with only three more auspicious dates, the last being May 2Oth. The girl would be seventeen in a few days. The reminders from her grandfather were becoming fiercer. Ramanujam had exhausted all the possibilities and had drawn a blank everywhere. He looked helpless and miserable. Makunda of Temple Street was after him.

Makunda and you are of the same sub- caste, I believe. Over a hundred letters have passed between them already. But I know they are definitely breaking off. It is over some money question. They have written their last message on a postcard and it has infuriated these people all the more. As if post- cards were an instrument of insult! I have known most important communications being written even on picture postcards ; when Rajappa went to America two years ago he used to write to his sons every week on picture postcards.

Let us see. No time to waste now. Open it and tell me what they have written," said Thanappa. He trembled with suspense. So they approve of the photo! Who wouldn't? I might as well apply for leave till Kamakshi's marriage is over. God knows how many hurdles we have to cross now. Liking a photo does not prove anything. The family was divided over the question.

Ramanujam, his mother, and his wife none of them had defined views on the question, but yet they opposed each other vehemently. If you stand on all these absurd antiquated formalities, we shall never get any- where near a marriage. It is our duty to take the girl over even to Delhi if necessary. Time was marching. The postman had got into the habit of dropping in at the end of his day's work, and joining in the council.

Listen to me," he said. What you cannot achieve by a year's correspondence you can do in an hour's meeting. I am sure it is from your husband. What is the news? He said : " I have some registered letters for those last houses. I will finish my round, and come back. I will offer a coconut to our Vinayaka tonight. We had an idea of doing it during next Thai month.

It will be so difficult to hurry through the arrangements now. But they say that if the marriage is done it must be done on the twentieth of May. If it is postponed the boy can't many for three years. He is being sent away for some training. You can't complain of lack of funds now. Go ahead. I'm so happy you have his approval. More than their money, we need their blessings, sir.

I hope he has sent his heartiest blessings. Ramanujam, with so short a time before him, and none to share the task of arrangements, became distraught. As far as it could go, Thanappa placed himself at his service during all his off hours. He cut short his eloquence, advices, and exchanges in other houses. He never waited for anyone to come up and receive the letters.

He just tossed them through a window or an open door with a stentorian " Letter, sir. In such a hurry! I will come and squat in your house after that " and he was off. Ramanujam was in great tension. He trembled with anxiety as the day approached nearer. Nothing should prove a hindrance. You have given them everything they wanted in cash, presents, and style.

They are good people. It is the very last date for the year. If for rk narayans short stories pdf files reason some obstruction comes up, it is all finished for ever. The boy goes away for three years. I don't think either of us would be prepared to bind ourselves to wait for three years. A quiet had descended on the gathering.

The young smart bridegroom from Delhi was seated in a chair under the pandal. Fragrance of sandal, and flowers, and holy smoke, hung about the air. People were sitting around the bridegroom talking. Thanappa appeared at the gate loaded with letters. Some young men ran up to him demanding : " Postman! I know to whom to deliver. The bridegroom looked up at him with an amused smile and muttered : " Thanks.

I have known that child, Kamakshi, ever since she was a day old, and I knew she would always get a distinguished husband," added the postman, and brought his palms together in a salute, and moved into the house to deliver other letters and to refresh himself in the kitchen with tiffin and coffee. Ten days later he knocked on the door and, with a grin, handed Kamakshi her first letter : " Ah, scented envelope!

I knew it was coming when the mail van was three stations away. I have seen hundreds like this. Take it from me. Before he has written the tenth letter he will command you to pack up and join him, and you will grow a couple of wings and fly away that very day, and forget for ever Thanappa and this street, isn't it so? He said, turning away : " I don't think there is any use waiting for you to finish the letter and tell me its contents.

My uncle, my father's brother, is very ill in Salem, and they want me to start immediately. Thanappa looked equally miserable. Ramanujam rallied, gathered himself up, and turned to go in. Thanappa said : " One moment, sir. I have a confession to make. See the date on the card. I was unhappy to see it. But what has happened has happened,' I said to myself, and kept it away, fearing that it might interfere with the wedding.

They will dismiss me. It is a serious offence. Ramanujam watched him dully for a while and shouted : " Postman! I am only sorry you have done this. Raman often burst out, " Why couldn't you have come a day earlier? Raman ; for them there was something ominous in the very association. As a result when the big man came on the scene it was always a rk narayans short stories pdf files decision one way or another.

There was no scope or time for any kind of wavering or whitewashing. Long years of practice of this kind had bred in the doctor a certain curt truthfulness ; for that very reason his opinion was valued ; he was not a mere doctor expressing an opinion but a judge pronouncing a verdict. The patient's life hung on his words. This never unduly worried Dr.

He never believed that agreeable words ever saved lives. He did not think it was any of his business to provide unnecessary dope when as a matter of course Nature would tell them the truth in a few hours. However, when he glimpsed the faintest sign of hope, he rolled up his sleeve and stepped into the arena : it might be hours or days, but he never withdrew till he wrested the prize from Tama's hands.

Today, standing over a bed, the doctor felt that he himself needed someone to tell him soothing lies. He mopped his brow with his kerchief and sat down in the chair beside the bed. On the bed lay his dearest friend in the world : Gopal. They had known each other for forty years now, starting with their Kinder- garten days. They could not, of course, meet as much as they wanted, each being wrapped in his own family and profession.

Occasionally, on a Sunday, Gopal would walk into the consulting room, and wait patiently in a corner till the doctor was free. And then they would dine together, see a picture, and talk of each other's life and activities. It was a classic friendship standing over, untouched by changing times, circumstances, and activities. In his busy round of work, Dr.

Raman had not noticed that Gopal had not called in for over three months now. He just remembered it when he saw GopaPs son sitting on a bench in the consulting hall, one crowded morning. Raman could not talk to him for over an hour. When he got up and was about to pass on to the operation room, he called up the young man and asked, " What brings you here, sir?

He rushed off straight from the clinic to his friend's house, in Lawley Extension. Gopal lay in bed as if in sleep. The doctor stood over him and asked Gopal's wife, " How long has he been in bed? He comes down once in three days and gives him medicine. Why, why, couldn't you have sent me word earlier? There was hardly any time to be lost. He took off his coat and opened his bag.

He took out an injection tube, the needle sizzled over the stove. The sick man's wife whimpered in a corner and essayed to ask questions. He looked at the children who were watching the sterilizer, and said, " Send them all away somewhere, except the rk narayans short stories pdf files. The patient still remained motionless.

The doctor's face gleamed with perspiration, and his eyelids drooped with fatigue. The sick man's wife stood in a corner and watched silently. She asked timidly, " Doctor, shall I make some coffee for you? He got up and said, " I will be back in a few minutes. Don't disturb him on any account. In a quarter of an hour he was back, followed by an assistant and a nurse.

The doctor told the lady of the house, " I have to perform an operation. Will you leave your son here to help us, and go over to the next house and stay there till I call you? The nurse attended to her and led her out. At about eight in the evening the patient opened his eyes and stirred slightly in bed. The assistant was overjoyed. He exclaimed enthusiastically, " Sir, he will pull through.

It is only a false flash-up, very common in these cases. At about eleven the patient opened his eyes and smiled at his friend. He showed a slight improvement, he was able to take in a little food. A great feeling of relief and joy went through the household. They swarmed around the doctor and poured out their gratitude. He sat in his seat beside the bed, gazing sternly at the patient's face, hardly showing any signs of hearing what they were saying to him.

The sick man's wife asked, " Is he now out of danger? She felt restless. She felt she must know the truth whatever it was. Why was the great man so evasive? The suspense was unbearable. Perhaps he could not speak so near the patient's bed. She beckoned to him from the kitchen doorway. The doctor rose and went over. She asked, " What about him now?

How is he? Unless you must know about it, don't ask now. She clasped her hands together and implored : " Tell me the truth. A terrible wailing shot through the still house ; the patient stirred and looked about in bewilderment. The doctor got up again, went over to the kitchen door, drew it in securely and shut off the wail. When the doctor resumed his seat the patient asked in the faintest whisper possible, " Is that someone crying?

You mustn't talk. It was already agitated by the exertion. The patient asked, " Am I going? Don't hide it from me. He had never faced a situation like this. It was not in his nature to whitewash. People attached great value to his word because of that. He stole a look at the other. The patient motioned a finger to draw him nearer and whispered, " I must know how long I am going to last.

I must sign the will. It is all ready. Ask my wife for the despatch box. You must sign as a witness. You must be quieter. I can trust your word. I can't leave my property unsettled. That will mean endless misery for my wife and children. You know all about Subbiah and his gang. Let me sign before it is too late. Tell me. He walked off to his car, sat in the back seat and reflected.

He looked at his watch. If the will was to be signed, it must be done within the next two hours, or never. He could not be responsible for a mess there ; he knew too well the family affairs and about those wolves, Subbiah and his gang. But what could he do? If he asked him to sign the Will, it would virtually mean a death sentence and destroy the thousandth part of a chance that the patient had of survival.

He got down from the car and went in. He resumed his seat in the chair. The patient was staring at him appealingly. The doctor said to him- self, " If my word can save his life, he shall not die. The will be damned. He stooped over the patient and said with deliberate emphasis, " Don't worry about the will now. You are going to live. Your heart is absolutely sound.

He asked in a tone of relief, " Do you say so? If it comes from your lips it must be true. You are improving every second. Sleep in peace. You must not exert yourself on any account. You must sleep very soundly. I will sec you in the morning. The doctor picked up his bag and went out shutting the door softly behind him. On his way home he stopped for a moment at his hospital, called out his assistant, and said, " That Lawley Extension case.

You might expect the collapse any second now. Go there with a tube of Next morning he was back at Lawley Extension at ten. From his car he made a dash for the sick bed. The patient was awake and looked very well. The assistant reported satisfactory pulse. The doctor put his tube at his heart, listened for a while, and told the sick man's wife, " Don't look so unhappy, lady.

Your husband will live to be ninety. He will live to be ninety. He has turned the corner. How he has survived this attack will be a puzzle to me all my life," replied the doctor. This is what happened to ex-gateman Govind Singh. And you could not blame the public either. What could you do with a man who carried about in his hand a registered postal cover and asked : " Please tell me what there is inside?

Everywhere the suggestion was the same till he thought everyone had turned mad. And then somebody said : " If you don't like to open it and yet want to know what is inside you must take it to the X-ray Institute. It was explained to him. But before saying anything further about his pro- gress, it would be usefiil to go back to an earlier chapter in his history.

After war service inhe came to be recommended for a gatekeeper's post at Engladia's. He liked the job very much. He was given a khaki uniform, a resplendent band across his shoulder and a short stick. He gripped the stick and sat down on a stool at the entrance to the office. And when his chief's car pulled up at the gate he stood at attention and gave a military salute.

The office consisted of a staff numbering over a hundred and as they trooped in and out every day he kept an eye on them. At the end of the day he awaited the footsteps of the General Manager coining down the stairs and rose stiffly and stood at attention, and after he left the hundreds of staff poured out. The doors were shut ; Singh carried his stool in, placed it under the staircase, and placed his stick across it.

Then he came out and the main door was locked and sealed. In this way he had spent twenty-five years of service, and then he begged to be pensioned off. He would not have thought of retirement yet, but for the fact that he found his sight and hearing playing tricks on him ; he could not catch the Manager's footsteps on the stairs, and it was hard to recognize him even at ten yards.

He was ushered into the presence of the chief, who looked up for a moment from his papers and muttered : " We are very pleased with your work for us, and company will give you a pension of twelve rupees for your life. This was the second occasion when the great man had spoken to him, the first being on the first day of his service. As he had stood at his post, the chief, entering the office just then, looked up for a moment and asked " Who are you?

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