SUMMARY, THEMES and CHARACTER SKETCH in THE M.C.C.

by RK
Narayan

THEMES: The MCC begins on a political note where children become judgmental without
understanding the societal complexity. The entire story centres around the children’s passion for
cricket which leads them to create a club, MCC. Little does Swami realise that there is nothing
indigenous about cricket, which is a British legacy. Through the story, Narayan has his jab at
cultural purists since cultures know no boundaries and human societies are complex accretions
where what is most appealing is retained. Cricket with its relaxed pace and camaraderie
fascinates the Indian mind set. It is extremely amusing that the name MCC is inspired by and is a
throwback to Marylebone Cricket Club. For all their anti-colonial sentiments, the young lads
hero worship British cricket legends like Tate and Brahman. It is rather endearing to see that this
lot is beyond understanding the absurdities of parochial nationalist zeal. It is the writer’s genius
that he paints for us a sunny world where the everyday is not affected by revolutionary stirrings.
Home remains a comforting zone and the hometown a restful relaxing space where the ardour to
revolt and alter does not change the rhythm of ordinary day to day existence. Narayan is the artist
of the average and the ordinary, and it is beautiful how all his fiction is a tribute to the spirit of
simplicity. He shows us the ordinary in its every day colour but the warmth and empathy with
which he canvases it is extraordinary – the stories leave an indelible impress on our minds with a
better and more comprehensive understanding of how people and societies cohere and grow, and
how childhood is unique in its limited but confident apperception of the complex adult world.

SUMMARY and CHARACTER SKETCH: The story begins with Rajam coming over
to Swami’s house. Rajam is an outsider to Malgudi. His father is a police officer which mandates
transfers from one place to another. Rajam is very different from the locals since he has
commendable English and his father’s profession gives him an edge over his friends.
Furthermore, Rajam is rich. The children at Swami’s earlier school, Albert Mission School, are
awed by Rajam. Rajam is a confident child though a little too full of himself. He feels very
important as his father is in charge of the nation’s law and order. It is interesting that unlike the
other boys at Malgudi, Rajam is methodical, organised and capable of delegating duties and
tackling unruliness. Towering over his classmates, Rajam remains affable in an aloof distant
sense. He strongly feels he is different in his group towards whom his attitude borders on being
condescending and mean. Unlike a spontaneous well intentioned close friend, Rajam makes
calculated overtures. He waits for a decent time to elapse before he goes to meet Swami. The
story begins with the sentence: “Six weeks later Rajam came to Swaminathan’s house to
announce that he forgave him all his sins...” Children’s behaviour reflects on their society – its
value systems and its snobbery. Rajam is conceited as he has been brought up to believe that the
school he goes to – Albert Mission School – has a snob value which is absent from Swami’s
current school – Board High School. Without any supporting proof, Rajam sits judgement on the
latter school which he believes produces good for nothing idiots. We are immediately given
evidence to the contrary. Swami is in cheerful company that looks after each other and does not
devalue anyone who is different. We get to know that Swami is proud of his new friend – Akbar
Ali – a Mohammedan who has lent his latest creation, a box camera, to him and is not parochial
or bigot but affable enough to laugh at the follies and excesses of the Mughal rulers. Through
Swami we realise that Akbar Ali does not begrudge the misdemeanour of the Mughal rulers but
has the good sense and humour to see it as history. On the other hand, Rajam belittles himself
and his own religion. It is appalling to hear this lad speak disrespectfully of his traditions and
mores and declare conclusively, “We Brahmins deserve that and more.” The two schools -Board
High School and Albert Mission School - figure as symbols of indigenous education system and
an education system modelled on the British education pattern, respectively. In all probability,
Narayan tries to make his readers grasp that foreigners cannot understand the inclusiveness of
Indian society which has helped it to grow and expand. On the contrary, the Raj could only be
consolidated and expanded by playing on differences, by encouraging divisiveness and creating
rancour on social and religious lines. It was imperative to British imperial designs that Hindus
who were in majority, should consider themselves despicable. As such, Rajam is a fine example
of this politics of divide and rule. He tells Swami, “… it is your Board High School that has
given you this mentality”, adding pompously that had it been for him, he “would have kept clear
of… dirty politics and strikes” little realising that Swami had been part of the uprising while
studying at Raja’s Albert Mission School. It is heartwarming to see Swami surrender to his
friend’s admonishing and regain his goodwill. Rajam is quickly mollified since like all children
he is theatrical and lives for the moment. The two of them agree to be “friends as of old”.

The story begins with Swami getting bored and languishing at home. Within a month’s span,
incidents and chance occurrences seem to have redefined the contours of friendship. Like adults,
little children have their social trajectories though these are passively defined by the adult world
that delimits who they are and how they lead their lives. One of Swami’s friends, Sankar, just
disappears and everyone is left guessing the reason which they believe could be his father’s
transfer. Another friend, Somu, is detained because of which he is regarded as an outsider. In the
world of childhood everything is ephemeral: pain, longing, nostalgia, envy or hatred are
temporary emotions. Swami moves on with minimal misgivings. He feels zero guilt over Somu’s
expulsion from his group since he has never questioned the injustice of reducing friendship to
rights and prerogatives. Pea is diminutive in size and has health problems. His friends do not see
anything out of the ordinary in his medical condition. The resilience and acceptance among
children is remarkable. Mani and Swami continue to interact like they’ve always done.

 Rajam moots the idea of starting a cricket club. It is absolute merriment to see the young lads
discussing cricket in the same juvenile breath which makes them confess

Candidly, without a trace of guilt or smugness that they have no idea of how cricket is played.
Rajam and Swami exchange notes on how they collect photographs of their cricket icons but are
thoroughly inept at the game. Theysurmise that every cricket player, including legends like
Hobbs must have learnt to play cricket after initial hiccups: “Probably Hobbs too was shy and
sceptical before he took the bat and swung it”. After a little hesitation over his weak cricket
skills, Swami quickly warms up to the idea of forming a cricket team and challenging other
teams to matches they believe would be easily won by them. The two friends have a very
entertaining childish conversation over the name of their team. Swami enthusiastically suggests
six to seven names which are eagerly jotted down by Rajam. Rajam is a little partial to naming
their team, MCC, an acronym for ‘Malgudi Cricket Club’. However, Swami in all his childhood
innocence feels apprehensive about the name since he fears it could invite a law suit from Hobbs
team, ‘Marylebone Cricket Club’ (MCC) at London which had been established in 1787 and
entrusted with managing cricket laws. Laughter sparkles through the naivety of these lads who
are actually nobodies but take themselves with earnest seriousness. With characteristic
childishness, Rajam suggests a way out. He proposes that their team could have two names, one
for formal inter-team matches and the other for their local games. Swami comes across as a
worrier. He thinks that two teams would invite dual taxation. Narayan takes a jab at the common
man who sympathized with Gandhi, not because of ideals of nationalism but because he had no
inkling of the government’s functioning. Rajam felt that there were “endless problems… The
Government did not seem to know where it ought to interfere and where not. He had a
momentary sympathy for Gandhi; no wonder he was dead against the Government”. Their
troubles seem compounded by their inability to decide who the Government actually was. This
was a time of transition. Furthermore, they had no idea of the amount that had to be paid as tax.
One feels a tad sorry for Rajam who is completely baffled by the sea of problems confronting
them; he had simply imagined an uncomplicated boys’ game – “gather a dozen fellows on the
maidan next to his compound and play, and challenge the world”.

Once the youngsters decide to have a team, their next agenda is to get their gaming gear. They go
through the sports catalogue of Messrs Bins provided by Rajam who decides to settle for nothing
but the best. He zeros on Junior Willard Bats, Seven Eight, “made of the finest seasoned wood”.
However, Swami in all his candid innocence states an indiscreet obvious: “It looks like any other
bat…” which gets him an admonition from Mani: “You are not fit to be even a sweeper in our
team” – a literal English translation of abuse in vernacular Hindi. Rajam also reprimands Swami
and compares Junior Willard Bats to Rolls Royce. He asks Swami whether or not he knows the
difference between Rolls Royce and other cars. We have a long answer from Swami, bristling
with indignation at the unexpected reaction from his friends to his unpretentious innocuous
statement. Swami gives us a long list of the merits of Rolls Royce and we have an interesting
purview of the age’s fascination with this car – a symbol of privilege and wealth. At the
receiving end of Swami’s information, Mani shuts up Swami saying that he ought to deliver a
lecture on Rolls Royce while Rajam has the last word on the discussion. He tells his friends that
at his earlier school his team had a dozen Willard bats among them and the bats had silk cords
and hidden springs in them “so that when you touch the ball it flies”. Once the superiority of the
bats is established and mutually agreed upon, all the three get down to the business of placing a
written order for the bats. Every time the lads put their heads together, they have an extended
discussion, which is psychologically plausible since children have an active imagination and a
mind of their own. Rajam thinks that they ought to order three bats so that they have a backup in
case one of the bats breaks. He is overruled by Swami and Mani who think two bats are
sufficient and three a waste of money. Despite his initial ignorance, Swami - who was till then
considered a “heretic”, catches on the enthusiasm. He is entrusted with the job of writing a letter
to Messrs Bins. However, he becomes nervous and is unable to write anything comprehensive
and substantial. Eventually Rajam ends up writing the letter, abrogating the proposed team’s
captaincy. We also get to know that the team has two names: ‘Malgudi Cricket Club’ and
‘Victory Union Eleven’. The letter is critically assessed and Mani feels that Rajam had
inappropriately addressed Messrs Bins as ‘Dear Sir’ since they were complete strangers and it
would be a breach of propriety to address them familiarly. A little detour into debating on social
finesse gives us an idea of what constituted correctness during this period, and how the standards
could differ. Through Rajam’s rejoinder we get to know that “dear” is an appellation exclusive to
people who share a common rank while ‘Sir’ is used by subordinates while interacting with their
seniors. The letter is posted as it is.
Once the letter is despatched, the lads take a break “with a feeling of relief” having done
“exacting work”. A while later the postman brings them a letter which they childishly presume
could be from Messrs Bins or Hobbs. Like children often do, they do not have an appropriate
sense and time. They discover that the letter is from Sankar, one of their friends, whose father
had got transferred. Sankar’s letter shows Narayan to be an astute child psychologist. The letter
is simple, monotonous and repetitive but the children go gaga over it and immediately get down
to writing a reply. Mani copies Raman’s letter adverbatim while Swami’s and Raman’s letters
are near identical. A master at copying and illustrating human emotions, Narayan is consummate
artist at his best while limning children who by nature are hyperactive and natural imitators.
Once the letters are collectively put into an envelope and the envelope sealed for delivery, the
children are unable to read Sankar’s postal address on the envelope because the address is
stamped all over. Narayan shows us how the postal department could be totally indifferent to the
concerns of the country’s  treating its work routinely without bothering how people at large
could be inconvenienced by its hastiness and shoddiness. As such, the letter is not posted.

Nothing keeps the children’s spirit down for long. Despite “a dark curved smudge on the
envelope” which was not “very illuminating”, the days ahead continue to bring in excitement and
new beginnings. Soon, a letter from Messrs Bins arrives which fills the children with pride. They
are overwhelmed by the idea hat a company of national stature had sent them a personalised,
typed letter and not merely a regular card. They gloat over the fact that they were henceforth a
legally recognised and a nationally acknowledged team since “His Majesty’s post office” had
“promptly delivered” a letter addressed to their captain. They took it as a compliment that Messrs
Bins had sent them a huge catalogue worth four annas. In their innocent self obsession these lads
believe that they are extraordinary and do not reflect over their out-of-the-ordinary feats.
Innocence and limited awareness coupled with ignorance soon backfires. The boys read and re-
read the letter but find themselves at sea with its formal technical jargon. We are told the sum
contents of the letter:

“Messrs Bins would be much obliged to him (the captain) if he would kindly remit 25 per cent

with the order and the balance could be paid against the V.V.P. of the Railway Receipt”.

“Three heads buzzed over the meaning of this letter” but were unable to even surmise whether
Messrs Bins was sending them their order or not. With nuanced humour, Narayan tells us that
“In the end they came to the conclusion that the letter was sent to them by mistake. As far as they
could see, the M.C.C. had written nothing… to warrant such expressions as Obliged, Remit, and
25% ”. They decide that the letter meant for someone else had been mistakenly sent to them.
Despite him being overruled all the time, we see that Swami is astute and observant. He tells
Rajam that Rajam’s examination score of 60% was overrated as he was unable to comprehend
the letter and the letter was specifically meant for them as it started with “To the Captain,
M.C.C.” In their collective limited wisdom, the children send the letter back to Messrs Bins with
a covering letter informing Messrs Bins that they had sent them “somebody’s letter. Please send
our things immediately ”.
For the next ten days the children wait for the bats to arrive but are disappointed. However, the
children are naturally an optimistic lot. With characteristic resilience they take things into their
stride

and accept the finality of doing with whatever is at hand. We are led to an anti-climax where the
highs of anticipation and excitement give way to resigned acceptance and routine happiness.
They find three bats in good condition in a “deadwood case” and “three used tennis balls” – not
cork balls – from Raman’s father’s club. The lads contended that there was no harm in practising
with old gear for, “By the time the real bats and the balls

arrived, they would be in form to play matches”. Their friend, Samuel – nicknamed Pea –
promises to get them “four real stumps that he believed he had somewhere in his house”. Things
look bright enough for a nice friendly cricket match. “A neat slip of ground adjoining Raman’s
bungalow” is decided for the pitch. A team is readied with Rajam handpicking a few of his
classmates. At five o’ clock, on the day of the match the M.C.C. team assembles excitedly at the
selected spot but soon excitement gives way to anxiety when Pea does not show up  with the
promised set of stumps. Narayan creates a frizzle of suspense when after half an hour Pea is seen
coming but against the blinding glare of the sun it becomes difficult to discern whether or not
“he was carrying a bundle” or “swinging his hands freely”. The team is sorely disappointed. Pea
stumps them without getting the promised stumps. He tells them that he could not locate the
stumps in his house. Irritated, Rajam tells him that he should have informed them earlier instead
of keeping them waiting needlessly to which Pea gives a candid reply: “How could I come here
and tell you and at the same time search?” Bittersweet humourlaces through the narrative and
makes us see the sorrows of childhood in a light hearted vein. Once again we are in the midst of
a resilient and a forgiving childhood. Though “A cloud descended upon the gathering” for each
one of “them had been dreaming of swinging a bat and throwing a ball”, one of their team
members suggestion that they could mark a portion of Raman’s compound wall as a temporary
wicket restores their enthusiasm. The match begins in high sports. Swami becomes the bowler
and Rajam the batsman. As luck could have it, Swami, who had never ever played cricket before,
bowls out Rajam “with the first ball” and is given the title “Tate”.