Aug 02, 2012 05:13 PM
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(Updated Aug 02, 2012 05:19 PM)
‘The Financial Expert’,( TFE), transports the reader back to Malgudi, a fictious world of R K Narayan’s imagination. The protagonist here is Margaya, a complex and entrancing character; a genius of financial mathematics. Sitting under the shadow of Banyan tree opposite to Village’s Corporation Bank, Margaya conducts his daily business which involves helping the fellow villagers with financial transactions that mostly deal with extraction of loan from the bank. He keeps track of the account of each of his client and earns his living by charging on the advice provided as well as the interest on the amount that he, at times, loaned them.
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'If the purpose of the co-operative movement was the promotion of thrift and the elimination of middleman, those two were just the objects that were defeated here under the banyan tree.”
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On one occasion, when Bank Manager cautions Margaya to stop his activities and warns him of police action if he ever finds him sitting under the Banyan tree again. Margaya feels insulted and swears to become a rich man like the Manager (“He has the right because he has more money, authority, dress, looks – above all, more money. Its money which gives people all this. Money alone is important in this world. Everything else will come to us naturally if we have money in our purse.”). But being a man of limited resources Margaya turns to Gods for help. Village priest helps him out with ways and rituals to make Goddess Lakshmi happy and obtain her blessings. But it’s only after a series of entertaining events that Margaya succeeds in getting hold of something that could help him get rich; and once it starts, in time and along with some tactful and smart decisions and tricks, Margaya becomes a Financial Wizard, most known and most sought after in whole of the Malgudi.
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That’s one aspect of the story that portrays Margaya as a smart, knowledgeable but impassive man who knows how to get the things done and how to make the money grow with time. It’s Margaya, as father, that shows the reader a different side of his character. Margaya as father is as common a man as it could be. Balu, his spoilt son, right from the childhood is a pain in the a$$ for Margaya. He throws Margaya’s account book into the gutter and ends his carrier as the adviser of Village folks for their Bank Transactions. During school years he fails to clear the 10th class exams repeatedly, even after application of all tactful ways by Margaya, and breaks Margaya’s dream of making Balu a big and respectful man. He runs away from home leading to lots of misery for his parents and towards the end forms the major reason for Margaya’s downfall.
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These two facets of Margaya’s character and life are brilliantly inter-woven by RKN. Through Margaya, RKN covers, basically, the tale of most financial experts of the world; masters at making money but ignorant of how to handle their families. . TFE starts on a very high note and manages to grab hold of a reader’s attention right from the first page with introduction of Margaya and curious reason behind his name. It goes at the same pace for next 100 pages as reader follows Margaya’s life, his business, his amusing conversations with villagers and his wife, his episodes with Balu, his losing business and getting on the path of puja-paath and rituals to become a rich man; his meeting Dr. Pal and getting hold of a book that changes his life completely.
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The sub-plots of Dr. Pal drag the story a bit from the main plot, infact that’s the case with most of the characters here; the moment a new character is introduced and attention is taken away from Margaya, you miss him. It’s a good thing that there are hardly 2 or 3 such cases. Towards the end, TFE again succeeds in asserting a strong hold on the reader as the plot shifts back to Margaya, the financial wizard. Last 50 or so pages mark the epitome the book. Written so impact fully that a reader like all the characters of the story wonders how Margaya’s managing his business by giving out 20% interest on the money to his clients. He starts to accrue a huge sum of money and his whole house turns out to be insufficient to store it. But then comes the fall as he tries to get together his family which in turn leads to incidents that brings in his financial collapse.
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Written in trademark RKN style, TFE’s main ingredient is the character of Margaya. Although written from a 3rds person’s point of view, everything is portrayed in context of this character. And through it all, RKN has succeeded in putting it forward with lots of hidden humor and irony. TFE serves you for, whatever expectations you read it with. If its humor you are looking for, well, you get a bucketful of it blended with lots of hidden irony and witty dialogues. At the same time it’s a serious story of a man, which could beany man, who wants to get rich and provide his family with all the stuff of the world, but in the process he forgets where to stop; he keeps accumulating money when its his love, care and attention that the family actually needs and wish for.
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“Money is the greatest factor in life and is most ill-used. People don’t know how to tend it, how to manure it, how to water it, how to make it grow, and when to pluck its flowers and when to pluck its fruits. What most people now do is to try and eat the plant itself.”
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One thing that we could learn from TFE is that financial wizards don’t fall from the sky, (infact it could be with anything you want to posses), you just have to be money minded and work hard and need to put all your energy towards one goal i.e. to become rich. They say. ‘It’s your desires that decide the course of your life’. So, if you really want money and is ready to do anything for it, you will surely get it sooner or later; But beware of the cost that you might have to pay for it. Nothing comes free, my friend.
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Few more wonderful extracts are in the comment section for better idea of writing style and feel of 'The Financial Expert'.
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PYAR HUMEIN PHIR MILAAEGA....
