Readers of a certain vintage will get a fuzzy feeling when they think about Malgudi Days, the iconic TV series that aired in the 1980s, before being revived for a new season in 2006. The show follows the exploits of a boy called Swami and the denizens of a fictitious South Indian town called Malgudi, where people lead a simple life that’s as different from the hustle and bustle of Mumbai as chalk is from cheese. The stories show how the locals went about their day, building interpersonal relationships such as that between a little girl and her aged nanny, and a man who takes care of his friend’s family after he dies. They depict an India of yore, one that existed before economic liberalisation and the digital revolution changed the face of the nation.

Manjunath Nayaker