Q) Discuss theme of the story 'Martyr's corner' .
Answer:- The author R.K.Narayan has wonderfully portrayed the picture of his imaginative locale Malgudi in his story. The story is also from his collection, 'Malgudi Days' , where he has depicted the boons and banes of town life. The telltale sign of this imaginative locale is prominent, still the author in his magical ways has included the day to day emotions of rural life in this story. Like the place itself which is universal, Rama, the protagonist of the story, also represents the commoan who is put to untold suffering because of the faulty administrative setup in which he is placed. The author has beautifully woven the theme of deligance, dedication,hard work, compassion,poverty, struggle and resilience. In the story the uncertainty of life and rise and fall associated with it is also displayed.
The first half of the the story talk about the success of the hard working , Rama , who sold eatables on a stall at corner near the cinema hall . He prepared the edibles from crack of the daen and then he sold them between eight to ten in the evening. He , through an investment of five rupees per day managed to earn a princely sum of three hundred a month. He didn't even bothered about understanding hygiene and sold near an open gutter. Still his customers clamoured for the food . All in all he had a good life.
Rama, later in the story , on account of a violent uprising at the spot where he pitched the stall of eatables could no longer sell from the old spot. He was forced to move two hundred yards away out of the sight of his potential customers. This resulted in his business coming down so much that he had to windup his business. Later when his savings ran out he had to take the job as a waiter in Restaurant Kohinoor for rupees twenty a month . Thus this story justifies the rise and fall of life.