Friday, April 16, 2010

Swami at the train station

I think that Swami deserves some serious commendation for going to the train station to see Rajam off. First he was uncertain what to give as a goodbye present, but then he decided on one. Second he woke up early to get to the train station on time. Third, even after a moment of pure doubt and self-consciousness when he saw the crowd around Rajam and his family, he still makes his appearance to his friend.
Indeed, just ten days before, Mani had told Swami that Rajam would never want to see him again, but Swami must have decided that their friendship was worth more than just a fight. Rajam's leaving was final, whereas the situation with the cricket game would probably blow over in time because that's how kids are.
In other words, Swami took a pretty big risk is going to the station because he knew that Rajam had been mad him for some time now and that there was a chance that he would completely blow Swami off. Rather than being afraid to take this risk of pain and embarrassment, Swami went to the station, gave Rajam his present and got the goodbye he wanted.
Whether or not Rajam would write to him is another story. At least by Swami going to the station, he can assure himself that his and Rajam final moment together was one of cordiality, which to me is better than never getting to see him again and having the cricket game (or lack thereof) be their last memory.

1 comment:

  1. I highly agree! I was happy that Swami got the guts to go and say goodbye. Swami wondering whether or not Rajam will write to him was the inner conflict he faced at the end of the novel. However, a much worse conflict would be if he had not gone to the station to say goodbye. Then, he would've probably regretted his decision for a very long time. At least now he can say that he did his best to keep Rajam's friendship.

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