Summary of Swami and Friends

Swami and Friends tells the story of Swaminathan, or Swami as he is often called, a ten-year-old boy growing up in the fictional city of Malgudi, in the South of India in the 1930s. The author gives a few context clues to help place the story in its time and place, such as discussing colonialism and anti-colonial protests, and referring to Tamil as the language most commonly spoken, though the book itself is written in English. The story is told from a third-person perspective, focusing mostly on Swami’s point of view but occasionally telling the story from the point of view of other characters, such as Swami’s father. Swami lives with his father, an attorney, his mother, and his doting Granny.