English Summaries

Cartooning -       R.K. Laxman Rashipuram Krishnaswami Laxman is the most popular cartoonist India has ever seen. His creation of the “Common Man” through his comic strip “You Said It” remains ever etched in the memory of Indians. Besides being a renowned cartoonist, he was also a writer and had published short stories, essays and travel articles. “Cartooning” is an excerpt taken from R.K. Laxman’s autobiography “The Tunnel of Time.” The writer recollects from his memory his teacher’s appearance, a stereotypical image. He smoked beedis. Whenever the urge came on him, he would appoint a monitor and go away. The boy’s stale stories would irritate the other students. He would write down the names of the suspects and would submit the list to the teacher. One day the teacher set the students a task of drawing the picture of a leaf. All set about it enthusiastically. One fellow drew a banana leaf that went out of the wooden frame of the slate. Another...

Alone -       Sheila Nayampalli Barua Sheila began writing late at the age of sixty. She completed her M.A. in English from Madras University. She taught English at a local college in Guwahati for twelve years. This story narrates the routine events of a day in the life of Anasuya who lives a lonely life on a flat in Bombay. It also presents a dreary outlook of an individual who chooses to live alone having lost her dear ones owing to unforeseen circumstances. Her routine observation begins at her apartment as the children next door say their goodbyes in a hurry to catch their school bus at 8:00 a.m. and the gates clash as they leave. This is followed by Mr. Hedge’s preparations for his Pooja in the opposite flat at 8:30 a.m. Next, at 9:30 a.m. he neighbor Nandita, the eldest daughter at home and the breadwinner leaves for her work. She closes the gates behind carefully and meticulously. Then, there is the absentminded Sarala who needs to close the ...

The Toys of Peace -           H.H. Munro (SAKI) Hector Hugh Munro was a British author who published under the pen name SAKI or H.H. Munro. He wrote many short stories and sketches. During the World War I, Munro fought in France and was killed in action. The story “The Toys of Peace” satirizes the campaign by the National Peace Council (Founded in 1908, and disabled in 2000, Britain), a coordinating Committee of anti-war organization, against violent toys. It proves that attempts by the parents and organizations to nurture children against their nature would not be successful. Eleanor Boper, mother of Eric, about eleven and Bertie who is nine and a half is concerned about her sons’ upbringing who she fears might be influenced by wars. Hence, she asks her brother Harvey to buy them peace toys so that they would become peace loving citizens. She reads out from a newspaper (London morning paper) cutting about the Children’s Welfa...