Malgudi comes alive, yet again

BANGALORE: Stride into the world of Swami, a charming boy from the village of Malgudi and be a part of his adventures.
Penguin Books in association with Ranga Shankara launched the classics edition of `Malgudi Schooldays' on Monday. It's part of the Penguin Classic Library, a five-day exhibition at the theatre which started on November 19.
An open-air library, talks, readings, exciting online activity, competitions, quizzes.etc marked the event. At the concluding day's event were writer Shashi Deshpande, theatreperson Arundhati Nag and Manjunath, who as a boy actor portrayed Swami on the small screen in `Malgudi Days'.
A nostalgic Manjunath said: "Children nowadays are losing out on creativity and imagination. Books are their last hope." He shared anecdotes from the shooting of `Malgudi Days' and said he'd always enjoyed the attention, chocolates and work pressure. "It was a wonderful exhibition and inclusion of R K Narayan's books gave it a contemporary context," said Shashi Deshpande.
Arundhati Nag, enthused by the number of Bangaloreans who visited the exhibition, said about `Malgudi Days': "It's the only TV series, apart from Ramayana and Mahabharata, which has stood the test of time."
toiblr.reporter@timesgroup.com