A Hymn to God the Father

 

The poem begins with a simple question for God: will He forgive the sin that all humans are born into? The speaker acknowledges that this sin isn't his (the speaker's) fault, and that it happened before he was even born. Then, without waiting for an answer, he asks God another question, this time if He will forgive the sins that the speaker continues to practice. The speaker ends the first stanza by telling God that when God has finished forgiving him for these sins, He isn't quite done yet… there are plenty more sins a-comin'.

In the second stanza, the speaker echoes his earlier questions, but this time he's concerned with the sins he's caused others to participate in, not to mention the sins which he was able to briefly avoid for a while before giving in and enjoying. He again reminds God that this isn't the end of sins that need forgiving. They are starting to pile up, in fact.

The final stanza focuses on the speaker's fear of dying before being forgiven for all these sins. He doesn't want to get stuck in Limbo—the place between heaven and hell—and he considers this fear to be another one of his sins: the sin of doubt. Unlike the first two stanzas, though, the final stanza contains a sort-of answer to the speaker's worries. The speaker decides that, as long as God swears that Jesus will still stand as a buffer between man's sins and God, he'll stop being afraid. Sounds like a deal to us.

The Bait

 The speaker asks the object of his affection to come live with him—presumably to marry him and be his wife. He then discusses fish in pools and brooks as an indirect way of describing the allure of his beloved. The river will be warmed by her eyes, and the passing fish will be drawn to her, easily caught. If she enters the water, the fish will follow her. While others may catch fish in slimy and hurtful ways, deceiving the fish, the beloved is her “own bait,” honestly attracting others to her. The poet concludes that any fish that can resist her charms is wiser than himself.

This poem shows Donne’s ability to take the standard pastoral form and apply it to a traditional spiritual metaphor. Whereas the traditional pastoral would focus on a shepherd or another land-based outdoorsman, “The Bait” takes as its motif a fisherman. Instead of sheep and green fields, Donne describes sparkling water and fish. The poem is made up of seven four-line stanzas, each of which follows an aabb rhyme scheme.

Donne characteristically begins the poem with an address to his beloved: will she live with him? If she does, they can “some new pleasures prove” (line 2), suggesting spiritual, intellectual, or sexual pleasures. By the end of the stanzas, he has changed the topic from sand and brooks to—of all things—fishing hooks.

This transition is so unusual that the reader might quickly see the spiritual meaning of the conceit: the beloved is Jesus, who is the fisher of men in the Christian Gospels. This connection helps the reader see what is going on in the rest of the poem. In the second stanza, the water will be “Warm'd by thy eyes, more than the sun” (line 6); indeed, God outshines the sun (in line 14 his beloved is so bright she darkens the sun and moon both). Accordingly, every fish will be “enamour’d” of her (line 7) and abides with her.

To take the next step, the beloved enters the water and swims with the fish, parallel to Jesus entering the world and attracting followers. On the physical level, the fish represent men who are taken by the woman’s beauty and thus draw near to her, heedless of the captivity they will endure to her charms. Yet, Donne’s spiritual meaning is hard to miss once the conceit has been unlocked.

Stanzas five and six compare the beloved’s ability to draw in her prey with the difficulties other fishermen encounter via their less justifiable strategies. They may “freeze” and “cut their legs” in harsh conditions; worse, they may act “treacherously” (line 19) and use deception or cruelty to catch the fish (“strangling snare,” line 20, or the “curious traitors, sleeve-silk flies” used as bait in line 23). The worldly analog to these false baits may be promiscuous or deceitful women, who cannot win a man’s love by their own natural beauty and instead act with deception or artifice. The spiritual analog is that group of demagogues or false preachers who deceive or make false promises in order to gain followers.

In the final stanza, the poet concludes that the beloved “need’st no such deceit” (line 25). This is because of the natural goodness that inherently draws men: “thou thyself art thine own bait” (line 26). Indeed, the poet has already been caught, comparing himself to one of the fish: “That fish, that is not catch’d thereby,/Alas! is wiser far than I” (lines 27-28). He is so enamored of her that he cannot imagine anyone who can escape her charms.

Yet, perhaps there really is a fish so wise it is not caught. Is this an ironic dig at unchristian philosophers who believe they are too wise to be drawn to Jesus? Or is the poet secretly hoping that he could be wise enough not to get caught? One might be drawn to look deeply into Donne’s biography to try to uncover the degree to which he genuinely determined to be a Christian divine versus succumbing to the pressure of his times.

Either way, as a metaphysical poet, Donne succeeds here in creating a love poem that does not rely on passion or overt sensuality to convey its point. He goes the opposite direction, speaking of slimy fish, ultimately communicating the purity of one’s love for his beloved and, by extension, for God.

Isabella Or The Pot of Basil

 

Isabella was a lady from Messina who falls in love with Lorenzo, the administrator of her brothers’ fortune. They learn about the meetings of the lovers. At first they are silent to avoid scandal, but one day they invited Lorenzo to a festival outside the city and murdered him.

Isabella was told that Lorenzo had had to make a long journey abroad. But months pass and he does not return. Isabella mourns and pines the departure of her lover. One day as she lay exhausted and sleeping, Lorenzo’s ghost suddenly appeared before her. He was pale, blood-drabbled, with garments rent and mouldy.

He told her of her brothers’ deed and asked her to find his body where it lay. Isabella finds the grounds where Lorenzo had been murdered. She brings back his head and buries it in a pot of basil. She tends to this obsessively, arousing the suspicions of her brothers’. One day they steal away the pot and Isabella is left alone to die in pain, mourning the death of her one true love.

An Astrologer’s Day

 An an unnamed village in India, an astrologer lays out his tools of the trade, a mix of cowrie shells, obscure charts, a notebook, and other such curios. They serve no purpose but to create the illusion of mysticism. The astrologer has also painted his forehead with sacred ash, wrapped his head in a turban, and seated himself and his gear beneath a large tree. All of these things serve to give him an air of wisdom, transcendence, and prophetic power, though the narrator is quick to point out that none of these qualities actually belong to the man.

The astrologer has set up his little shop amidst a busy marketplace among people fencing stolen goods, presenting the same cheap food as a variety of gourmet delicacies, and auctioning off low-quality fabrics. The astrologer, quickly established as a fraud, is in the company of other fraudsters and spin doctors selling their wares and making their livings. The marketplace is lit by various shop lights and flares, the dancing shadows of which enhance the astrologer’s mystical quality. He notably has no light of his own, but simply borrows that of the other vendors.

The astrologer had never had any intention of becoming one, but had been forced to leave his ancestral home and travel several hundred miles away with no plan and no money. Even so, he is a convincing holy man, using his own insights into human problems to offer vague but comforting advice to people in the market. He functions as a sort of therapist, offering self-affirming advice that he wraps in the guise of astrological wisdom. He is good at his trade; he tells people what they want to hear, and they leave comforted by it. Though it is not an honest living that the astrologer makes, it is still a well-earned one.

As the marketplace is emptying and the lights are being put out, a stranger named Guru Nayak appears. In the darkness, neither can see much of the other’s face. Seeing the opportunity for one more client, the astrologer invites Guru Nayak to sit and chat. The stranger does so, but is instantly skeptical of the astrologer. He aggressively wagers that the astrologer cannot tell him anything true or worthwhile. They haggle over the price and the astrologer agrees. However, when Guru Nayak lights a cheroot, the astrologer catches a brief glimpse of the man’s face and is filled with fear. He tries to get out of the wager, but Guru Nayak holds him to it and will not let him leave.

The astrologer tries his usual tack of vague, self-affirming advice, but Guru Nayak will have none of it. The astrologer sincerely prays for a moment, and then changes course. He reveals to Guru Nayak that he knows he was once stabbed through the chest and left for dead, and that now Guru Nayak is here searching for his assailant. He even reveals that he knows Guru Nayak’s name, something he attributes to his cosmic wisdom. Guru Nayak is greatly excited by all of this, believing the astrologer to truly be all-knowing. He presses the astrologer for the whereabouts of the man who stabbed him so that he can have his revenge. The astrologer tells him that he died several months ago, crushed by an oncoming lorry. Guru Nayak is frustrated by this, but satisfied that at least his attacker died terribly. He gives the astrologer his money and leaves.

The astrologer arrives home late at night and shows his wife the money he has made, becoming briefly bitter when he realizes that although Guru Nayak has paid him a great sum, it is not quite as much as promised. Even so, his wife is thrilled. As they lie down to sleep, the astrologer reveals to his wife that a great burden has been lifted off of his shoulders. Years ago, the astrologer was the one to stab Guru Nayak and leave him for dead, which forced him to flee his home and make a new life as a fraudulent astrologer. He had thought himself to be a murderer, but was now content that he had not in fact taken a life. Satisfied by this, he goes to sleep.

Kabuliwallah

“Kabuliwallah” opens with the narrator describing his five-year-old daughter, Mini. She “can’t stop talking for a minute” and is frequently scolded by her mother for it. The narrator, on the other hand, thinks that it’s “unnatural” when Mini is quiet, and so he spends a lot of time talking to her and answering her many questions. One morning, Mini chats with her father while he’s working on an adventure novel. She looks out the window and spots a Kabuliwallah named Rahamat and starts calling to him. However, when he comes over, Mini runs into another room, convinced that his large bags are full of children, not goods.

A few days later, the narrator finds Mini sitting next to Rahamat and talking to him with a pile of raisins and nuts in her lap. The narrator tells Rahamat not to give her any more treats and gives him a half-rupee, which Rahamat takes. Later, Mini’s mother scolds Mini for having a half-rupee, which Mini says Rahamat gave her. The narrator saves Mini “from her mother’s wrath” and brings her outside where she tells him that Rahamat has come by almost every day to listen to her talk. Among the numerous jokes they have together, one starts with Rahamat telling Mini, “don’t ever go off to your śvaśur-bāṛi.” Mini doesn’t understand what this means because the narrator and his wife are “progressive people” who “don’t keep talking to [their] young daughter about her future marriage,” and so she innocently asks him if he is going to his. Rahamat jokingly shakes a fist and says he’ll “settle him,” making Mini laugh.

It is autumn, which the narrator associates with kings setting out “on their world-conquests,” which further reminds him that he has never left Calcutta even though he longs to explore the world. He has an active imagination and frequently imagines distant lands, but he is “a rooted sort of individual” and whenever he does leave his “familiar spot” he will “practically collapse.” Because of this, the narrator is happy to spend a morning just listening to Rahamat’s stories of Afghanistan and traveling. Mini’s mother is very different: she is scared of the outside world and imagines it is full of extreme dangers. Unhappy with Rahamat, a complete stranger, spending so much time with Mini, she warns the narrator to keep an eye on him. When the narrator tells her there is nothing to worry about, she talks about the possibility of Mini being kidnapped and sold into slavery. Rahamat, however, continues to come and the narrator continues to enjoy seeing him with Mini.

Rahamat is preparing to go home. Part of these preparations is to go all around Calcutta and collect money that customers owe him, but he always makes time in the evening to stop at the narrator’s house to talk with Mini. One morning, the narrator hears something going on in the streets and looks out the window to see Rahamat, covered in blood, being led down the street in handcuffs. The narrator runs outside, and Rahamat tells him that he got into a physical altercation with a customer who had refused to pay and, during the fight, he stabbed the customer. Mini comes out and asks Rahamat if he’s being taken to his śvaśur-bāṛi, and he says that he is. Rahamat is sent to jail. It does not take long for Mini to forget Rahamat and find new friends, first with the groom (someone who takes care of horses) and then with girls her age. She stops visiting her father’s study and the narrator says he “dropped her,” as well.

A few years later, the narrator and his wife are preparing for Mini’s wedding day. The house is full of people setting things up and the narrator has isolated himself in his study. Rahamat suddenly arrives and tells the narrator he had been released from jail the day before, which reminds the narrator of his crime and sets him on edge. The narrator tells Rahamat that they are busy and he will have to go, but Rahamat asks if he can see Mini. Once again the narrator tries to brush him off and Rahamat prepares to leave, but as he walks out the door he asks the narrator to give Mini some grapes, nuts, and raisins he brought for her as a reminder of their past friendship. The narrator gets some money to pay Rahamat for them, but he refuses payment and tells the narrator that he had come with his own daughter “in mind,” not to do business.

Rahamat pulls “a crumpled piece of paper” out of the breast pocket of his shirt and shows the narrator the handprint of his daughter, Parvati, that he carries with him while he travels for work. Seeing it, the narrator “forgot then that he was an Afghan raisin-seller and I was a Bengali Babu,” instead recognizing that “he was a father just as I am a father.” This changes the narrator’s mind about sending Rahamat away and instead he calls Mini down. When she comes in, she’s “dressed as a bride” and acts shy and uncomfortable. Rahamat tries to joke with her as he used to, asking if she’s going to her śvaśur-bāṛi, but instead of laughing and asking questions, Mini “blushed […] and looked away.” The narrator’s “heart ache[s].”

When Mini leaves, Rahamat suddenly realizes that his daughter, like Mini, will have grown up and be different from the little girl he once knew. As Rahamat thinks about Afghanistan and his daughter, the narrator pulls out some money and asks Rahamat to use it to get home. He tells Rahamat that, “by your blessed reunion, Mini will be blessed.” Giving Rahamat the money means that Mini’s wedding party is not as grand as it might have been, but the narrator is happy with it, believing that “the ceremony was lit by a kinder, more gracious light.”

 

The Bet

 On a dark autumn night, the banker paces in his study and recalls a party he hosted fifteen years before. In a flashback, he and several of his guests, many of whom are journalists and scholars, discuss whether capital punishment is more moral and humane than life imprisonment. While many, including the banker, assert that imprisonment is crueler because it kills by degrees rather than instantaneously, a young lawyer argues that life imprisonment is preferable because it is better to live somehow than not at all.

The banker challenges him to be imprisoned in a cell for five years, and, not to be outdone, the lawyer insists he could do it for fifteen. The wealthy banker stakes two million rubles in exchange for the lawyer’s freedom. The banker goads then the lawyer over dinner, telling him to back out while he still can, because three or four years of the lawyer’s life (surely, the banker assumes, he will not stick it out any longer than that) is more valuable than money that the banker can easily afford to lose. He also reminds the lawyer that voluntary imprisonment will be much harder psychologically than that which has been enforced.

The following evening, the lawyer is imprisoned in a garden wing of the banker’s house. He is forbidden to leave, to interact with anyone or even hear human voices, or to receive letters or newspapers. He is allowed to write letters, read books, play the piano, drink, and smoke. As the years go by, the lawyer negotiates different stages of coping with what is essentially solitary confinement. At first, he is terribly lonely and bored, playing the piano, rejecting wine and tobacco, and reading only novels “of a light character.” Then, in the second year of his imprisonment, he reads only classics. By the fifth year, he has stopped playing music and refuses to read. He writes letters but tears them up, often weeping, and often drinks and smokes. Next, he voraciously studies philosophy and languages, becoming an expert on several. Then he reads the New Testament, and, finally, in the last two years reads randomly, selecting everything from Shakespeare to the natural sciences.

The day before the lawyer is to be released, the banker is desperate–his fortunes have completely reversed, and he is now so deeply in debt that he cannot afford to pay the lawyer the two million rubles. The banker decides the only solution is to kill the lawyer. He sneaks out to the garden, where it is pouring rain, and deduces that the watchman is gone from his post because of the weather. He sneaks into the lawyer’s room and discovers the man asleep, completely emaciated and sickly thanks to his imprisonment, aged far beyond his forty years, and seeming like a “half-dead thing.”

The banker reads the note the lawyer has written and left on the table, which is a long treatise that declares how he despises “freedom, life, health and all that your books call the blessings of the world.” He has learned a staggering amount from all that he has read, and feels he has traveled all over the world, seen beautiful things, been with beautiful women, learned about the wonders of nature, and become immensely clever. He finds all of that meaningless, however, because it is temporary, and is bewildered by those whom he believes “have bartered heaven for earth.” As such, he renounces the two million rubles and declares that he will leave five hours early so as to lose the bet.

The banker begins to weep and kisses the sleeping lawyer on the head, wracked with contempt for himself. The next morning, the watchman informs him that the lawyer has escaped. The banker goes to the garden wing to confirm the departure. He takes the note “to avoid unnecessary rumors” and locks it in his safe.

The Gift of the Magi

The story begins with Della despairing over the meager amount of money she’s managed to save over the past few months by pinching pennies. She had been hoping to save enough to buy her husband Jim a worthy Christmas present. Della suddenly goes to gaze at her reflection in a window, letting her hair fall to its full length below her knee. Della’s brown hair and Jim’s gold watch that had been passed down from his grandfather are the couple’s most prized possessions.

Della runs to a hair shop and sells her hair for twenty dollars. Then she uses the money to buy Jim a simple platinum watch chain. The chain is described as possessing “quietness and value,” like Jim

Della returns home to fix her hair into curls and make dinner. When Jim walks into the door, he freezes, staring at Della’s hair. Della tells him that she did it in order to buy a proper Christmas present for him. Jim snaps out of his shock, hugs Della, and throws a package on the table. He explains that no haircut could make him love her any less, but that he was surprised because of the present that he bought for her. Della opens the package to find expensive tortoiseshell combs for her long hair. She’s ecstatic for a moment before she begins crying, and Jim has to comfort her.

Suddenly, Della remembers her present to Jim, and asks to see Jim’s watch so that she could put the new chain on it. Jim sits back on the couch and smiles, then admits that he sold his watch in order to buy the combs.

The narrator wraps up the story by describing the magi who invented the art of giving Christmas presents. He compares Della and Jim to these wise men, and concludes that of all those who give gifts, these two are the wisest.

Where There's a Will

 

The play ‘ Where There’s A Will’ by Mahesh Dattani. In 1986, he wrote his full length play ‘where there’s  a will’.

                In play ‘where there is a will’ we can see there are many characters. Characters like   Hasmukh   Mehta  , his wife Sonal  Mehta, his son Ajit and his daughter-in-law priti , Kiran Jaweri (mistress of Hasmukh Mehta). It is a Gujrati play. The story started the death of Hasmukh   Mehta and he appears as a ghost. The family member  the all are busy with own life. In the play ‘where there is a will’ mainly concentrate in the social issue.

                As the play opens Ajit is on the phone talking to a friend about his frustration as his father does not give him Rs.5 Lakhs to modernize the factory. Here, we can see the relation between father and son. Always Hasmukh Mehta keeps commenting on Ajit’s irresponsible and crackpot schemes. And also we can find the confrontation between Hasmukh and his son Ajit. The more he claims his right to prove his worth , Ajit is  taunted by his father as a good for nothing saying,

“I am not trying to humiliate you. I m trying to put some sense into you. Trying to fill up empty space”

            We can say that Ajit exposes his father’s selfish motives due to depravity in childhood.

“Anything I do is wrong for you! Just because you are a self-made man and had a deprived childhood…. Nothing I do will ever seem intelligent to you . you are prejudiced”

            Here, we can find that Hasmukh keeps nagging ajit calling him a big zero and affirms that he would ever remain so. The argument and counter argument between the due end up with the father sleeping and ajit for disrespecting him.

         However, in the play ‘ where there is a will’ Mahesh Dattani also focus on the female character who are always busy for work and preparing for dinner. Sonal and priti are always busy with the making dinner. Sonal also makes orange flavored halva for ajit which irritates her husband who is a diabetic. From the interaction of the characters it is evident that they have no deep familial relationship.

         In the play ‘ where there is a will’ Dattani also focus the comically scene. Sonal and priti talking with each other  at that time sonal ironically comment on the meaning of ‘Hasmukh’  which means ‘a smiling face’. But here we can see her husband never smiled, blaming her and her son for all his problems.

          In the second part of the play, the scene shifts to husmukh’s death. Here Dattani applying magic realism, Dattani has very deftly brought in the scene to establish the protagonist’s patriarchal hegemony even after death.

“I am dead. I can see my own body lying still on the bed . looking peaceful , but dead”

           At the ends with the arrival of Kiran, husmukh’s mistress, who has come to stay in the house being named the executrix of the will. Because they all are fighting  with will. Kiran establishes her indispensability as she has come to assist them  as per hasmukh’s will.  By trying to establish supreme control over his family through his money and will, husmukh was only perpetrating the filthy tradition inherited from his father. Somewhere the hegemony had to stop. Ajit revolts against patriarchy and establishes his final victory.

           At the end , they all are join hands being victims of the same male domination and ruthless patriarchy. Dattani has successfully explored like Ibsen some of the problem faced by patriarchal societies that need purging of the ghosts of the past.

          May conclude my point Dattani through light on  the gujrati family and in our today life we can see the   currant problem in the 21^st century.  Though written in the backdrop of a gujrati family, ‘where there is a will’ is applicable to join-family system prevalent in several part of India. Also we can say at the end of the play Kiran’s assessment of extreme patriarchal control in husmukh as a substitute for his inadequacy as a man, finally resolves the conflict among the characters and bring them together to derive benefit from the Husmukh Will.

Thinking Activity - 1

 

Naga Mandala by Girish Karnad is a play where myth takes over reality. Girish Raghunath Karnad is a contemporary Indian playwright, actor and movie director in Kannada language. He is among the seven recipients of Jnanpith Award for Kannada, the highest literary honor conferred in India. Girish karnad wrote the play Naga Mandala in 1987-88.The play is based on two oral Kannada tales he had heard from his mentor-friend and well –known poet, translator and philologist A.K.Rumanian, to whom Karnad also dedicated the play. Through the interesting blend of history and myth, he talks about socio-cultural issues of the India.

Rani is a young bride who is neglected by her indifferent and unfaithful husband, Appanna. Appanna spends most of his time with his concubine and comes home only for lunch. Rani is one of those typical wives who want to win her husband’s affection at any cost. In an attempt to do so, she decides to drug her husband with a love root, which she mixes in the curry. That curry is spilled on the nearby anthill and Naga, the King Cobra drinks it.

Naga, who can take the form of a human being, is enchanted with her and begins to visit her every night in the form of her husband. This changes Rani’s life completely as she starts to experience the good things in life though she never knows that the person with her is not her husband but the Naga.

One of these days, she gets pregnant and breaks the news to Appanna. He immediately accuses her for adultery and says that he has not fathered the child. The issue is referred to the village Panchayat. She is then asked to prove her fidelity by putting her hand in the snake burrow and taking a vow that she has not committed adultery. It is a popular belief that if any person lies holding the snake in their hand, they will be instantly killed by the snake God.

She does place her hand in the snake burrow and vows that she has never touched any male other than her husband and the Naga in the burrow. She is declared chaste by the village Panchayat. However, her husband is not ready to accept that she is pregnant with his child and decides to find out the truth by spying on the house at night. Appanna is shocked to see the Naga visiting Rani in his form, spending time with her and then leaving the house.

However, after this incident Appanna realizes his mistake and he accepts Rani along with the child she is carrying.

  

     Dear Students You guys know that this story is based on two Karnataki Folk Tales. Your task is to write a new Folk Tale in your own words. 

Best Wishes... 

Happy Learning..... 

Arms And The Man

 

The play begins in the fall of 1885 during the Serbo-Bulgarian War. Raina, a Bulgarian woman from a wealthy family, learns from her mother, Catherine, that the Bulgarian cavalry have won a battle against the Serbs. Catherine adds that Sergius, Raina’s fiancé, was at the head of the charge, and was as heroic in life as he appears in the picture Raina keeps in her bedroom. Louka, their servant, enters and warns Catherine and Raina that escaped Serbs fleeing the battlefield might be in the area, seeking refuge in the houses of Bulgarian families. Raina is not worried, and chooses to keep her window unlocked. In the night, a man enters the room through the unlocked window and says he will kill Raina if she makes a noise. The man is Swiss and an escaped soldier, fighting as a mercenary for the Serbians.

Raina is shocked to see that the man is tired and hungry, that he does not glorify battle, and that he is merely happy to have escaped the carnage alive. Raina helps him hide behind a curtain just as Catherine, Louka, and a Bulgarian officer enter to search the room for any Serbs who might be hiding in the area. Raina convinces them that no one is in her room, and they leave. Raina gives the man chocolate creams, which she keeps in a box in her room, and is shocked to hear that the man has no ammunition for his pistol, as he normally only keeps candies in his pockets. The man argues that Sergius’s cavalry charge against the Serbs was foolish, and succeeded only by sheer luck. The Serbs had machine guns but were given the wrong ammunition by accident, and therefore could not mow down Sergius and his men. Raina agrees to help the man escape later that night, though she rebukes him for making fun of her fiancé Sergius. The man sleeps as Raina enlists Catherine’s help, and when Raina and Catherine return, they allow the man to rest since he has not slept for days.

The second act begins in the garden of the same house, though it is now spring of 1886. Louka is engaged to the house’s head male servant, Nicola. Louka tells Nicola that he will never be more than a servant, and that she has higher aspirations. Louka tells him she knows many secrets about the Petkoff family, and Nicola says that he does, too, but would never blackmail his masters. Major Petkoff, the head of the family, returns from the war. He reports to Catherine that Sergius will never receive the military promotion Sergius craves, because Sergius has no command of military strategy. Sergius enters and is greeted warmly by the family, and especially by Raina, who still considers him a hero. Sergius says he has abandoned his commission in the army out of anger that he will never move up in the ranks. Sergius and Petkoff tell a story they heard about this Swiss soldier being hidden by two Bulgarian women during the soldier’s retreat. Catherine and Raina realize the story is about them, but do not say anything.

Sergius speaks with Louka in private, and begins flirting with her. Louka reveals to Sergius that Raina might not remain faithful to Sergius, and Sergius is taken aback. They exit. A man named Bluntschli enters the family garden and Louka brings him to Catherine. Catherine realizes that he is the man that hid in Raina’s room, the same man that she and Raina helped escape. Catherine worries that Sergius and Petkoff, who are conferring over military plans in the library, might encounter the soldier. Sergius and Petkoff have no idea that the story they heard about a soldier being helped by two Bulgarian women involves the Petkoffs. Bluntschli has come to return Major Petkoff’s coat that Catherine and Raina lent him to escape. Raina is so happy to see him that she blurts out, “the chocolate cream soldier!” when she walks in the room, only to recover herself and blame her outburst, implausibly, on Nicola. Petkoff and Sergius, who have in fact already met Bluntschli during the war, ask Bluntschli to stay and pass the time.

In the final act, the various tensions of the play thus far are exposed. Louka tells Sergius that the man with whom Raina is in love is Bluntschli. Sergius challenges Bluntschli to a duel because of this, but Bluntschli explains his way out of it. A picture of herself that Raina placed in her father’s cloak for Bluntschli to find is exposed, proving that Raina has not been entirely truthful to Sergius. Raina admits that she has had feelings for Bluntschli since they first met. Major Petkoff is aghast. When Bluntschli acknowledges that he has loved Raina, Sergius and Louka reveal that they have been having a secret affair at Sergius’ instigation, and Nicola releases Louka from their engagement. Bluntschli, whose father has just died, has come into a great deal of money, so Raina’s parents are glad to marry her off to him and his handsome fortune. Raina is revealed to be twenty-three rather than seventeen, enabling Bluntschli in good conscience to ask for her hand in marriage. Bluntschli promises to hire Nicola, whom he admires, to run the hotels he has just received as part of his inheritance. Sergius accepts Louka has his lover in public, thus satisfying Louka’s desire to move up in the social ranks. The play ends with Sergius exclaiming, of Bluntschli, “What a man!”

The Guide

 The novel begins on the outskirts of the quiet village of Malgudi, where a simple villager named Velan mistakes Raju, newly out of jail and resting at the ruins near the river, as a holy man. Velan is reverential toward Raju and tells him of his problems, namely that his half-sister refuses to marry the man selected for her. Raju does not really care but since he is lonely, he is happy that somebody is talking to him. He thinks about how he just got out of jail and of his time before then as a famed tourist guide. Raju lived in Malgudi with his mother and father. He grew up as the train station was being built and eventually, after his father’s death, came to run his father’s spacious shop. He loved talking to people and was quite popular as a guide; his nickname was even "Railway Raju."

The next morning Velan brings his sister to Raju and he tells her placidly that "What must happen must happen; no power on earth or in heaven can change its course, just has no one can change the course of that river.” She is impressed and after her meeting with Raju she agrees to her family's wishes. This begins Raju's journey as a holy man. Dozens and dozens of villagers gather to see their Swami. They decorate the ancient temple, bring him food and gifts, encourage their sons to read and learn from the schoolteacher in Raju’s presence, and generally seek Raju’s counsel about all manner of things. Raju is concerned about his pretending but is often impressed with his own sagacity and decides he must stay here to avoid going back to his old village. He grows a long beard and long hair and becomes used to saying profound things.

After a few years, the rains disappear and famine and strife begin to affect the villages. Velan’s never-do-well brother comes to see Raju and admits that people are fighting due to the famine. Raju is distressed by all of this commotion and orders the brother to give the message to the people that they are not to fight and that he will not eat until they stop fighting.

When Velan’s brother finds Velan and the other elders, he is embarrassed that he mentioned the fighting to the holy man so he says simply that he told the Swami that there was no rain. He then repeats the part about Raju not eating so Velan and the others think Raju is about to undertake the sacrifice of fasting and praying until the rain comes. When the people pour into Raju’s area to look upon him and thank him, he realizes something strange is going on. Velan excitedly reminds him of what he’d said one time about this fasting and praying, and Raju rues that he made this up a while ago.

That evening, Raju wonders if he ought to run away but remembers the women and children and their gratitude and decides he must see this out. He calls Velan to him and begins to tell him his life’s story. Velan listens gravely.

Raju tells Velan of his childhood, his time at school, how he built up the business after his father's death, and how his fame as Railway Raju increased day by day. Most importantly, he tells of how his life changed when he meet Rosie. This is what Raju recounts...

One day, a stern and dry academic tourist named Marco arrives and enlists Raju’s services. His wife Rosie arrives not long after. Raju sets them up in a hotel and from there, after dropping Marco to admire old friezes, he takes Rosie to watch a king cobra dance to a flute. Rosie sways to the rhythm and Raju learns she is a dancer. He finds her beautiful and enticing and falls in love with her. He praises her dancing. He sees that she and Marco have a terrible marriage and fight constantly; she married him because he was rich and did not care that she was from a lower caste. He confesses his love for her and eventually the two start sleeping with each other.

Raju becomes more interested in Rosie than his shop or his friends or his mother. He cares little for tourists and they have to go away disappointed. Though Marco has no idea what is going on between Raju and Rosie, caring only for his caves and friezes and virtually letting Raju become a member of his family, Raju still cannot relax because it seems like distance has made Rosie fonder of her husband. She often worries that she is doing the wrong thing. Raju earns her affection back by telling her she must take up dancing again and that he will support her. She is elated and begins practicing. However, she needs to secure permission from Marco and he has always been antipathetic to her dancing, considering it base and useless.

Rosie prepares to spend a few days with Marco at Peak House and broach the subject. When Raju comes to fetch her, he can tell something is terribly wrong with the couple. Marco tells Raju his services are ended, and Rosie yells at him to leave.

Back home, Raju has a miserable month where nothing provides him solace. He cannot stop thinking about Rosie. His business continues to fail. To his delight, though, Rosie shows up at his doorstep one day and Raju announces to his mother that she will be staying with them. Rosie tells Raju that when she brought up the dancing to Marco, he did not like it and she accidentally mentioned that Raju did. The story of their affair came tumbling out and Marco cut her off completely. After three weeks of silence and completely ignoring her, he packed up and left for their home in Madras and told her she did not have a ticket. That was when she came to Raju and his mother's house. Raju promises to turn her into a star.

While Rosie works hard, Raju’s mother and the rest of the town cannot help but gossip about her. Raju loses his store and wonders how he will make money. He is taken to court for his debt but even though his mother angrily pesters him he cares little. He only wants to help Rosie become a famous dancer.

At her wits’ end, Raju’s mother asks her elder brother, a wealthy and commanding man, to come to the house to knock sense into Raju. It does not work, and despite the myriad of insults and threats, all that happens is that Raju’s mother decides to go away with her brother; she cannot bear to see Raju throw his life away for Rosie.

Raju is sad about the state of affairs with his mother, but devotes himself to Rosie and her career. He suggests she change her name to Nalini and she agrees.

Rosie/Nalini becomes very popular with her art of dance and, with Raju’s guidance and maintenance of her schedule, they both are earning money. They move into a huge house and begin moving in elite circles. Raju and Rosie’s relationship becomes a bit strained and he can see that she is unhappy, but all that matters to him is earning the maximum amount of money.

One day, Raju’s secretary Mani drops off a book for him. It is by Marco and is his long-awaited cultural history of South India. There is a brief thanks to Raju in it for his guide work. Raju is puzzled and decides to hide it from Rosie. When Mani tells her of it somehow, she demands Raju show her. She is happy for her husband, which makes Raju furious.

Not long after the book incident a letter arrives for Rosie but Raju sees it first and opens it to see correspondence from a lawyer that states: “Madam, under instruction from our client, we are enclosing an application for your signature, for the release of a box of jewelry left in safe custody at the Bank of ------, in the marketplace. After this is received we shall proceed to obtain the other signature as well, since you are aware that the deposit is in your joint names, and obtain the release of the said box, and arrange to forward it to you under insurance cover in due course." Raju is thrilled that there might be expensive jewelry but he does not want Rosie to see the letter because she might become emotional. He cannot stop thinking about it, however, and finally forges Rosie’s signature. He expectantly waits for the arrival of the jewelry box.

After several days of waiting, Rosie is giving a performance and Raju is watching. During the dance, the police superintendent comes with an arrest warrant against Raju for forgery. He realizes how grave his offense was but feels immense self-pity. When he tells Rosie, she soberly says it is karma because she had a feeling he was doing wrong. She says she will take care of their debts but the relationship is over.

Raju has his trial and has to spend two years in jail. There he is a model prisoner and actually grows to enjoy the peace and regularity of jail life. He learns from Mani that Rosie has settled in Madras and is doing well.

Raju concludes his tale of his past life and he again tells Velan that he is not a holy man but a common man like everyone else. Velan is unaffected by the story and promises never to say anything to anyone. Raju realizes he must go on with the fast.

A newspaper article garners a great deal of attention and people begin flooding Malgudi to pay homage to the holy man trying to end the drought. Crowds swarm around Raju and his wishes for some peace and privacy. His body begins to weaken and sometimes he is bitter against Velan for starting this whole thing. However, he finally decides this is his calling and he will fast properly and will devote himself to this with all care and energy.

On the eleventh day, doctors suggest that Raju is dying and must stop the fast; a government telegram concurs. However, in the evening, with the help of Velan and others, Raju gets up and walks to the river. He prays and then opens his eyes, looks about, and says, "Velan, it's raining in the hills. I can feel it coming up under my feet, up my legs” and sags down.