The MCC
by Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan
The story is set in the fictional town of Malgudi. It is a story about three friends who are part of the Malgudi Cricket Club, or the MCC. The MCC originally stood for the Marylebone Cricket Club of London - a very significant club which was founded in 1787 and made cricket laws until 1969. Let us read and find out what happens when Swami and his friends decide to buy cricket gear for their team.
Making Connections
Quick answers
1. Answer the following questions in not more than a sentence.
a. What was the Junior Willard referred to as by the catalogue man?
= The Junior Willard referred to a company of bats by the catalogue man.
b. Why did Rajam want to buy three bats?
= Rajam wanted to buy three bats because he thought that suppose one bat breaks in the middle of a match, they will have no problem continuing the match.
c. What was the most difficult part of the affair?
= The most difficult part of the affair was to write a letter to Messrs Binns, for ordering goods.
d. Where did the MCC members find the pitch to play?
= The MCC members found the pitch at a neat slip ground adjoining Rajam's bungalow to play.
e. How did everyone treat the Pea when he did not get the stamps?
= Everyone looked at him expressing their resentment. Pea was isolated.
Reference to context
2. "All the three devoured with their eyes the glossy pictures of cricket balls, bats and nets."
a. Explain the term 'devoured with their eyes'.
= The term 'devoured with their eyes' means Rajam, Mani and Swaminathan were reading and watching the catalogue quickly and eagerly.
b. Why were the three so enthusiastic about the glossy pictures?
= The three had decided to buy stuffs for their cricket team from Messrs Binns. They were being fascinated looking at the catalogue of Messrs Bins.
c. What did they 'order' from the catalogue?
= They 'ordered' two Junior Willard bats, six balls, wickets and other things from the catalogue.
3. "The letters were put into a stamped envelope and the flap was pasted."
a. Who wrote the letters and why?
= Rajam, Mani and Swaminathan wrote three letters in reply to the letter of Sankar.
b. Why was it important to post the letters immediately?
= It was important to post the letters immediately because they wanted to know if Sankar was able to come to them and be a member of their cricket team.
c. Why couldn't the envelope be posted?
= The envelop couldn't be posted as they did not find the address of Sankar anywhere on Sankar's card. There was not even the name of the town he was writing from. They tried to get the address from the postmark. But the postal stamp was very dark with curved smudge.
4. "What a tribute!"
a. What is the 'tribute' that is being referred to here?
= A huge catalogue of Messrs Binns is the 'tribute' that is being referred to here.
b. Why did they receive the tribute and who sent it to them?
= They received the tribute as they wished to buy some cricket stuffs from the shop of Messrs Binns.
Messrs Binns sent it to them under a cover carrying four annas postage.
c. What were the other 'implications' of the letter with which the tribute came?
= The letter informed the captain that Messrs Binns thanked him for his letter and would be much obliged to him if he would kindly remit 25 per cent with the order and the balance could be paid against the VPP of the railway receipt.
Read, reflect and write
5. Do you think Sankar will continue to correspond with his friends? Give reasons.
= I think Sankar will continue to correspond with his friends. As we come to know that he will be only there from where he has written the letter. On the other hand he is very fond of his friends and wants to know more about them. He wants to know more about the weather and their playing of cricket. But unfortunately his friends can not reply to his letter. This will make Sankar more inquisitive and he will definitely write to them again.
6. Why did the three friends think that the letter from Messrs Binns was sent to them by mistake? Give reasons.
= The three friends thought that the letter from Messrs Binns was sent to them by mistake for some apparent facts which they seemed was wired. First of all, they were confused about the use of the word 'obliged'. They couldn't even pronounce it properly.
Messrs Binns asked them in the letter to send 25 percent of the order which they couldn't understand either. They got engaged in an argument about whether a BA can understand that letter or not.
They had problems with 'obliged', 'remit', and '25 per cent'.
All these reasons made them to come to a conclusion that the letter was sent to them by mistake
7. If you had been a member of the MCC, what would you have done on receiving the letter from Messrs Binns?
= If I had been a member of the MCC, I would have shown it to a learned person who had better command on English language. Then I would have arranged to send them 25 per cent of the order along with a reply to their letter.
8. With what did the MCC members finally play? Describe the arrangements made.
= The MCC were an optimistic lot. Though they were still unhonoured with a reply to their second letter, they expected their goods to arrive with every post. After ten days, they thought they ought to start playing with whatever was available till they got the real bats etc. The bottom of a dealwood case provided them with three good bats, and Rajam managed to get three used tennis balls from his father's club.
A neat slip of ground adjoining Rajam's bungalow was to be the pitch. A boy called Samuel, nicknamed Pea, promised them to provide them real stumps. But he ultimately failed to do the same. Then a portion of the wall was marked off with a piece of charcoal and considered it as the stumps.
This way the captain Rajam arranged the field and opened the batting himself.
9. At the end of the story, when a cloud descended over Swami and his friends, they found a ray of hope. What does this tell you about them? What conclusion may one draw from this?
= A boy called Samuel, nicknamed Pea, promised them to provide them real stumps. But he ultimately failed to do the same. Then all present there became disappointed. Then a portion of the wall was marked off with a piece of charcoal and considered it as the stumps. This solved the problem of stumps.
They were very much eager to play cricket and especially play with the real stuffs of cricket. They were intelligent enough to find a quick solution for the problem. They are very playful with sporting nature. They did not hold the disappointment for long. They engaged themselves in playing cricket and found their happiness.
10. Extended writing: Describe your own experiences of finding a place to play cricket and the adjustments that you had to make when you did not have appropriate equipment or place to play. What were your innovations?
= Once we were invited in the office fest of my father. It was noon. Many of the children of my father's colleagues were also present. Few of them decided to play cricket until the lunch was being served. But the problem was that there were no proper cricket stuffs present at the office. So we managed to collect some sticks from the nearby park and made them stumps and we made bats with the comparatively thick sticks. Then we collected some waste papers from the office and made them round and tied with some string. This was our ball. Then we started playing cricket and it was so much fun to play cricket that way.
About the author :
Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan (1906-2001) was one of India's leading novelists. Narayan's fiction is rich in humour, energy and simplicity. He created the fictitious town of Malgudi. Most of his unforgettable characters live in this town. Some of his well-known works are Swami and Friends, The Bachelor of Arts, The English Teacher and The Guide.