[Points: The name of the book—its author—story—the appeal of the book—principal characters—conclusion.]
The book I like most is Ramer Sumati by Saratchandra Chatterjee. Ramlal, the boy hero of the story, had lost his mother when he was only two years and a half. Since then he had been brought up with all the love and affection of a mother by Narayani, wife of his step brother Shyamlal. Ramlal was an unruly boy, full of mischief. He was almost a terror to the whole village, and consequently caused constant worries to Narayani. The situation took a turn for the worse when Narayani's mother, Digambari, came to live with her daughter. She and Ramlal developed an antipathy to each other. Digambari tried to poison the ears of her daughter and son-in-law against Ram, and Ram too spoke in insulting terms about her. One day Ram quarrelled with the son of the zemindar of the village under whom his brother served. Shyamlal was naturally very much vexed. Shortly after, à quarrel ensured between Digambari and Ramlal. The boy aimed a guava at Digambari, which by chance struck Narayani on the eye. All these were too much for Shyamlal. The ancestral home was partitioned and Ramlal was separated from their joint mess. The boy practically fasted for two days, and so did Narayani too. The third day she cooked meals herself and called in Ramlal to feed him with her own hand. Digambari threatened to leave the house, but Ramlal pleaded with his sister-in-law to allow her to stay on, assuring her that good sense had dawned on him at last.
The story is a nice picture of the fast-decaying joint family system in India. Narayani was an ideal mistress of such a family, full of love and sweetness and tact. Ram was more than a son to her. Digambari, her mother, found shelter with her in her distress. How skilfully did Narayani prevent the quarrels between her mother and Ramlal from going to extremes. But the author's protrayal of the character of Ramlal appeals to me most. With all his wayward nature and hot temper, he was like a lamb to his sister-in-law. How nicely have his feelings for Narayani been painted through a few incidents. He could not bear any opposition, but submitted tamely to her caning. Though a grown-up lad, he had to be fed by her. He flared up to see his banyan twigs uprooted, but calmed down at once when Narayani told him that they were. harmful to her. He threatened the doctor with dire -consequence unless he cured his sister-in-law as early as possible. How true all these delicate touches are to the nature of a love-hungry boy like Ram.
No wonder the book is still one of the most popular of the works of the great author.
