Scribd
Upload
41 views1 page

Swami and Rajam: Cricket and Colonialism

The document explores the impact of English colonization on the friendships and identities of boys Rajam and Swami, highlighting how political differences can strain personal relationships. The formation of a cricket team symbolizes the boys' struggle between embracing colonizer culture and maintaining their own identities, while also reflecting their desire for self-determination. Ultimately, it illustrates the paradox of colonized individuals adapting to and embracing aspects of the colonizer's culture for a sense of normalcy and enjoyment in life.

Uploaded by

Subhashis Jishu Kundu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
41 views1 page

Swami and Rajam: Cricket and Colonialism

The document explores the impact of English colonization on the friendships and identities of boys Rajam and Swami, highlighting how political differences can strain personal relationships. The formation of a cricket team symbolizes the boys' struggle between embracing colonizer culture and maintaining their own identities, while also reflecting their desire for self-determination. Ultimately, it illustrates the paradox of colonized individuals adapting to and embracing aspects of the colonizer's culture for a sense of normalcy and enjoyment in life.

Uploaded by

Subhashis Jishu Kundu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Rajam’s casual acknowledgement of the way that political differences separate him and Swami

underscores the theme that the pressure of English colonization appears everywhere, even in close
boyhood friendships. The sudden disappearance of Sankar and Somu also shows how easily a person can
go from close friend to distant memory, again challenging Swami to accept the changing identities of
those around him.

Just as Swami’s friends earlier accused Swami of thinking he was too good for them by hanging out with
Rajam, so too does Rajam accuse Swami of thinking he is superior. That even the powerful Rajam would
make this accusation shows the depth to which external ideas of power structures are embedded in the
boys’ lives. Swami’s desire to please Rajam wins out over his political convictions, again showing the
confusion that Swami feels as he attempts to take charge of his own priorities.

Rajam and Swami’s plan to form a cricket team introduces the novel’s most important symbol, the
English game of cricket. The boys do not discuss the fact that cricket comes from the country of their
colonizers; rather, they simply embrace it as a way to enjoy themselves and legitimize their pursuits
outside of their families. However, with his concerns about government regulations, Swami intuits that
even in this harmless pastime, the effect of political structures will still be present. By somewhat
ironically equating the cricket team with Gandhi’s fight for Indian independence, Narayan shows the
inextricability of the political from personal life.

The act of choosing equipment and writing to the company serves as an important act of self-
determination for the boys. They are excited to have chance to choose their own name and do not feel
concern about the team’s ties to British culture. This lack of worry illustrates the paradoxical point that
colonized people like Swami and his friends can and sometimes must adapt to the culture of the
colonizer and even embrace aspects of it in order to lead normal, enjoyable lives.

You might also like