Malgudi Days- by R.K. Narayan

Introducing this collection of stories, R. K. Narayan describes how in India 'the writer has only to look out of the window to pick up a character and thereby a story'. Malgudi Days is the marvellous result. Here Narayan portrays an astrologer, a snake-charmer, a postman, a vendor of pies and chappatis - all kinds of people, drawn in full colour and endearing domestic detail. And under his magician's touch the whole imaginary city of Malgudi springs to life, revealing the essence of India and of human experience.

• An Astrologer's Day": A short story in which an astrologer meets his rival who he thought had for long been dead.
• "The Missing Mail": A story about Thannappa, a postman who doesn't deliver a letter because of celebrations in a house.
• "The Doctor's Word": A story about Dr Raman, a doctor who believes good words can't save lives, but tells a lie to his friend about his bad health.
• "The Blind Dog": A story about a blind beggar who catches a dog to guide him through the streets. And he turns greedy, and also starts torturing the dog.
• "Fellow Feeling": A story about Rajam Iyer, a Tamil Brahmin who is travelling in a train compartment and gets accused by a fellow passenger for eating fish.
• "The Tiger's Claw": A story about the talkative man, it is told as a flashback, when he goes to a remote area and faces a man-eating Tiger.
• "Iswaran": A story about a boy named "Iswaran" who failed his Intermediate Exams ten times, and when he passes it, in happiness, he gets drowned in the river Sarayu.
• "Such Perfection": A story about a man who carved an image of god, that caused, because of its perfection, caused heavy natural calamities.
• "Father's Help": A story about a boy named Swami, who didn't want to go to school, and told a lie that his teacher Samuel is very much violent, but his father writes a complaint to his principal.