Servants Of India

by R.K. Laxman

In Servants of India, R.K. Laxman profiles ten hilariously idiosyncratic people, who are among the countless men and women who run the lives of the middle class in India. The tales are put together by Ganesh, a freelance journalist trying to write a feature article on servants he has known. As his chronicle progresses, what emerges is a richly embellished narrative starring unforgettable characters. There is Swami, the cook, who finds his true vocation as a godman; Kumar, who deserts his household duties to pursue his tinsel-town dreams; Anthony, the driver, who makes money on the side by giving lifts to strangers; the maid Shanti, whose lift is thrown into turmoil by the neighbour's servant who is besotted with her; and Ramaswami, a trusted retainer who reappears mysteriously, much to the consternation of his employer, long after he has been presumed drowned. Marked by Laxman's trademark wit, and including pencil sketches drawn especially for this edition, Servants of India is a delightful read.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

'''Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Iyer Laxman''' (born October 23 1924, Mysore, India) is an Indian cartoonist, illustrator and humorist. He is widely regarded as India's greatest-ever cartoonist and is best known for his creation ''The Common Man".

R. K. Laxman was awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan by the Government of India. He has won many awards for his cartoons, including Asia's top journalism award, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, in 1984.

Reviews

[Sandeep · Rating 2 out of 5]

Servants of India - RK Laxman
Rating 2.75/5

An uneventful and non-impactful production from the RK Laxman stable. This book brings about fictious tales of servants who serve middle class Indian homes. There is no special touch to any of the story. The writing appears amateurish. It feels as if a budding chef has conjured up the most simple recipe for a culinary competition.

The book is small and stories are easy to read. Stories are cliched, each one about a servant, maid, cook, driver, ayah, a house help - who in turn have a interesting story or side to them.

RK Laxman might have derived inspiration from characters and setting of Malgudi but the Malgudi charm fails to lighten up a rather dull read. Not much insight has been provided into the lives of the servants (in general) - the problems they face, the lives they live. I think I am asking too much - in looking for serious stuff amongst trivial writing.

Through these stories RK Laxman has emphasized how much an Indian household is in need of a house help. I agree it provides a means of livelihood for people, I also understand with help one can prioritize one's own tasks.

Overall, not much to expect in a book of 130 pages.

Cheers.

[Vikas Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

India's most loved and creator of "The Common man", cartoonist R.K.Laxman was more famous for his caricatures than for his writings. This is one of his few adventures in filed of writing. The collection is a hilarious account of the role and importance of servants in the life of average middle class Indian. Each servant featured brings something interesting and funny to the table. Good, engrossing read.

[Anand Ganapathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book for 2020's reading challenge . RK Laxman's at his humourous best ... Lovely pencil sketches by the master cartoonist ...

[Sriya · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a nostalgia. Read this a few years back for school. While I couldn't remember anything about the author the imagery stuck with me all these years. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

[Hitesh]

As a crime reader, I picked up Servants of India hoping for some light reading — something witty, maybe humane, perhaps even insightful. What I got instead was a glossy tribute to the colonial hangover disguised as satire.

The book, a collection of ten stories told through Ganesh’s account of master-servant relationships, tries to capture the quirks of Indian domestic life. Unfortunately, it does so by polishing the master’s shoes far more than it gives voice to the servant’s soul. The storytelling is simple, yes, but simplicity without empathy becomes shallowness — and that’s exactly where Laxman falters.

The servants here are treated like amusing props in a social play that reeks of class superiority. The masters behave less like employers and more like colonial relics still drunk on hierarchy — as if servitude were a birthright. You can almost sense the author’s nostalgia for the British club culture where humor was a substitute for humanity.

The satire feels too safe, too sanitized, too unwilling to ruffle the comfort of the privileged reader. The emotional weight of exploitation, the rawness of inequality, the quiet dignity of those who serve — all lost beneath cartoonish exaggeration. The sketches and anecdotes that could’ve deepened the narrative end up trivializing it instead.

So yes, Servants of India may amuse some, but to me, it read like a smug reminder of how normalized servitude still is in our society. If books earned stars for honesty and empathy, this one deserves five negative stars for missing both.

[Nagarajan Narayanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful narrative!

[Yuvaraj kothandaraman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Servants of India by R.K. Laxman is a unique novel that offers readers a window into the lives of India's working class through a series of interconnected stories about domestic servants and their employers. Rather than following a single protagonist, the book unfolds as a chronicle of colorful characters and their experiences, held together by the narrative voice of Ganesh, a freelance journalist who becomes fascinated by the lives of servants who pass through Indian households. The novel is witty, often poignant, and reveals profound truths about human nature, morality, loyalty, and the invisible bonds that form between those who serve and those who employ them.

Laxman's greatest achievement in this novel is his humanizing portrayal of domestic servants. Rather than treating them as background figures or one-dimensional helpers, he presents them as complex individuals with their own dreams, histories, and contradictions. Each servant is a fully realized character with agency and dignity. The book refuses to judge these individuals harshly, instead inviting readers to understand their choices within the context of their circumstances and limitations.

The narrative structure is brilliant. By having Ganesh collect these stories from his friends and acquaintances, Laxman creates a frame that feels organic and natural. The stories flow naturally from one to another, connected not just by Ganesh's desire to write about servants but by common themes of human vulnerability, misunderstanding, and unexpected redemption. This structure allows the book to cover diverse stories while maintaining narrative cohesion.

The individual stories themselves are memorable and distinct. Each servant has a unique story that reveals something different about India, about ambition, about spirituality, about chance and fate. The variety ensures the book never becomes repetitive despite its episodic structure. Moving from a criminal who becomes a perfect servant to a spiritual cook to an ambitious actor to a ghostly storyteller keeps the reader engaged and constantly surprised.

The book is very much a product of its time. References to specific Indian political figures and issues from the time period, mentions of technology that has become outdated, and cultural attitudes that have evolved may require some context for modern readers unfamiliar with mid-twentieth-century India. The book never becomes inaccessible because of this, but some richness is lost for those without this historical context.

The portrayal of servants, while respectful and humane, is still ultimately from the perspective of their employers. We see these servants primarily through how they affect the households they work in, not entirely from their own interior perspectives. A more intimate first-person account from a servant's viewpoint might provide even deeper insight into their lives.


Keshab the Handyman:

Ganesh, a freelance journalist, is inspired by his wife to write a series of stories about the domestic servants who have worked in their household over the years. The first story he writes is about Keshab, who was hired as an all-purpose handyman. Keshab proved invaluable to the household, capable of cooking, gardening, fixing electrical problems, and serving guests at cocktail parties with professional grace. Ganesh threw a cocktail party attended by important people including the Commissioner of Police. After the party, the Commissioner pulled Ganesh aside and revealed that Keshab was a wanted criminal with a long history of crimes including jewel thefts and assaults. Rather than arrest him immediately, the Commissioner agrees to wait until the next day at Ganesh's desperate request, citing the disruption to the household. Ganesh realizes from this exchange that Keshab had discerned from listening to the wife's description that the tall man in the blue safari suit was the Police Commissioner. That night, Keshab disappears from the house. The next morning, Ganesh learns from the milkman that there was a car accident on the highway where the driver was killed. Through his police contacts, Ganesh researches Keshab's history and discovers an extraordinary criminal career involving multiple aliases, constant escapes from the law, and a remarkable ability to reinvent himself through changing his appearance and identity. Keshab had managed to evade capture for years before being identified at Ganesh's party. Six months of exemplary service in Ganesh's house had been the calm before another storm of flight.

Swami the Cook:

Vasu, a friend of Ganesh, recalls his cook Swami, whom Ganesh later encounters as a pundit conducting an engagement ceremony. Swami came highly recommended and was quiet and agreeable. He never asked about salary, responding only that Vasu should give him what he deserved. Vasu's wife was extremely pleased with him. However, Swami had strange habits, including talking to himself in the kitchen and staring unabashedly at visitors, which often required him to be redirected to chores. More peculiar still, Vasu discovered Swami one night lying on the kitchen floor in a wet dhoti with sacred ash and saffron on his forehead, appearing to be in a meditative state. When asked about this, Swami explained matter-of-factly that on every full moon day he took a midnight bath and performed meditation while lying on the floor until his dhoti dried naturally. Vasu decided to keep this ritual secret from his wife, knowing she would suspect black magic or sorcery. After a year, Swami announced he needed to leave. Although Vasu protested, Swami was determined. He found a substitute cook before departing, softening the blow. After leaving Vasu's house, Swami disappeared for years. He eventually became a self-appointed priest in his village temple and later became an astrologer who dispensed wisdom from mythology to gatherings in the temple courtyard. Eventually, an NRI from the village invited Swami to America to give religious discourses to the Hindu community. Swami changed his name to Swami Swaroopananda and became active in America, giving lectures and raising funds for temples. Contact with him eventually ceased, and he was heard of no more.

Kumar the Actor:

Kumar worked as a cook for Anand's household. One day, Anand's grandson noticed a film poster at a local circle showing Kumar in a cinema advertisement for a movie called "Dawn of Love" with the lead role credited to Kumar Chandra, with two pretty girls and a gun in the poster. Soon after, film posters, cut-outs, and hoardings featuring Kumar appeared all over the city. Phone calls began pestering the household asking if the Kumar in the household was indeed the cinema actor. Kumar's film ambitions had come to fruition while he worked as their cook.

Parvati the Ayah:

Ramesh hired an ayah to care for his mischievous two-year-old grandson while the child's mother attended to her social activities and handicrafts. Several unsuitable ayahs were tried and rejected before a middle-aged woman arrived who was perfect for the job. She was experienced, made no demands, and spoke only when spoken to, though she rarely smiled and always appeared sorrowful. Gradually, it was learned that she was a war widow whose husband had died in border skirmishes. She had no children or relatives and had previously worked various difficult jobs including hauling bricks and chopping wood. The child became deeply attached to her, more than to his own mother. Ramesh would watch her manage the child without raising her voice, seemingly having a hypnotic influence over him. One day, a tall bearded man in khaki pants approached the gate, watching the child and ayah. Ramesh feared he was a child lifter and signaled the ayah, who immediately covered her head with her saree, picked up the child, and dashed to the veranda in apparent fear. However, when Ramesh asked what was wrong, the ayah announced with a shy smile that the man was her husband. Ramesh was shocked, declaring that she had said her husband died in the war. The visitor explained that he had actually been taken prisoner of war, not killed. The child refused to let the ayah go with her husband and screamed until his mother distracted him with chocolate. The ayah's husband began staying in the garden, and the couple managed a precarious arrangement where they had limited time together. A neighbor eventually asked if the man could serve as a watchman for the housing society, offering to pay him. The ayah's husband accepted, and the arrangement worked out satisfactorily for everyone.

Anthony the Chauffeur:

Mr. Krishnan retired and purchased a small red car, though he did not know how to drive. He hired a driver named Damodar, who soon abandoned him for a higher salary from another employer. After months, Krishnan hired Anthony, a tall, thin man who resembled a young James Bond. Anthony's unhurried duties left him with considerable free time. He began picking up hitchhikers and short-distance passengers without legitimate connection to Krishnan's household, collecting tips from grateful passengers. Krishnan, ignorant about cars, did not notice the increased petrol consumption. One day, Krishnan was in the car during traffic when a smartly dressed young man jumped in, assuming Anthony was a taxi service, gave Anthony a tip, and jumped out. Krishnan was shocked, having just witnessed Anthony transporting a stranger for money. When Krishnan confronted him, Anthony explained that since the car was empty between trips, he saw no harm in giving lifts for tips. Mrs. Krishnan suggested they tell Anthony a cautionary story about another driver caught using his master's car as a taxi. However, Krishnan worried Anthony would see through the ruse and leave. Nevertheless, Krishnan claimed to have handled the matter tactfully, telling Anthony an indirect story about another driver's dishonesty, and reported that Anthony had apologized tearfully. However, some weeks later, someone called to tell Anthony not to look for Sham Pyarelal at the post office the next morning. Krishnan hung up the phone totally disillusioned, realizing Anthony's taxi business had continued despite the supposed lesson learned.

Iswaran the Storyteller:

Mahendra is a junior supervisor who moves frequently between construction sites. His constant companion is his cook Iswaran, who follows him to every posting and feeds him elaborate dishes produced seemingly from nowhere. Iswaran is an exceptional storyteller who has been influenced by Tamil thrillers he reads. He weaves suspense and drama into even the smallest incidents, using dramatic gestures and narrative flourishes. Mahendra listens uncritically to tales about wild elephants causing destruction, escapades told with embellished descriptions and surprise endings. On one auspicious day, Iswaran makes a special dinner. Afterward, he shocks Mahendra by revealing that the entire factory area was once a burial ground. Iswaran claims to have found human skulls and to sometimes see ghosts at night, particularly a horrible female ghost with matted hair, a shriveled face, and a foetus in her arms that appears during full moon nights. Mahendra dismisses this as imagination and insanity, telling Iswaran to see a doctor. However, one night, Mahendra hears a moan outside his window and sees in the moonlight a dark cloudy form clutching a bundle. He breaks into a cold sweat. In the morning, Iswaran greets him cheerfully and mentions that he heard Mahendra moaning the previous night and came running, as if to confirm Mahendra saw the ghost. Mahendra, chilled to his spine, immediately hands in his resignation papers and leaves the haunted place the very next day, abandoning the job.

Ramu the Retainer:

Balu moves into The Lotus Estate, a posh housing complex, with his family including a servant boy named Ramu. Almost immediately, complaints begin about Ramu bothering other servants and residents. He is accused of making faces at other servants, breaking locks, and causing mischief. Despite mounting evidence that Ramu is troublesome, Balu struggles to dismiss him because it is emotionally difficult. One day, Ramu locks the servants in the toilet from the outside. When the Gurkha watchman frees them, Balu becomes furious and throws Ramu out of the house, telling him never to return. However, the entire estate soon sympathizes with the orphaned boy sitting under a tree in the garden. Neighbors send him food and tea, and their servants plead for his reinstatement. Balu receives an official letter from the managing committee demanding that Ramu be removed from the estate property immediately. Facing enormous public sympathy for Ramu and his own exhaustion, Balu is forced to take him back. This pattern repeats, with Ramu behaving mischievously, being threatened with dismissal, and then being reinstated due to overwhelming sympathy from estate residents. Despite Ramu's argumentative nature, laziness, and constant troublemaking, he somehow endures in Balu's household for years, always on the verge of being dismissed but never actually removed.

Narasimha the Terrible:

Narasimha began his career at age fourteen after dropping out of school following a fight with his father. He worked at an Udipi hotel but was driven out by the head cook who saw him as too ambitious. He joined a newly married couple and worked there contentedly until they were transferred. Throughout his career, Narasimha could not last anywhere long because of his arrogant and short-tempered nature. He eventually landed at Nalanda Caterers, where his boss Ranga Rao is quiet and non-interfering. Narasimha becomes indispensable and eventually takes over the entire business operations, becoming aggressive and feared by his staff. He becomes a client of Dr. Raghu Raj, a well-known physician honored with the title Padma Shree. For a dinner party, Dr. Raghu Raj assigns the arrangements to his nephew Sambu. When Sambu arrives at Narasimha's office, Narasimha is gruff and argumentative, discussing the menu with aggressive declarations like "Brinjal is God's own creation." On the day of the dinner, while Sambu is telling stories and mimicking various people including Narasimha and his staff, Narasimha storms in and announces he is withdrawing his staff and refusing to prepare dinner because he has been insulted. The family panics, but Dr. Raghu Raj calmly asks Sambu to display his talent. Sambu gives clever imitations of hawkers, movie actors, the chief minister, and Nehru addressing the nation. Even Narasimha ends up laughing and clapping. He apologizes and returns to his work, grinning.

The Saga of Ramaswami:

After Ganesh finishes his Servants of India chronicle, he learns that his favorite author Dharmaraj is coming to town. At the tea party, Dharmaraj tells a story from his own experience. He introduces Ramaswami, a boy who worked as a house servant and had an obsession with ships, particularly a merchant vessel he saw on the horizon through the window. Everyone in the household knew of this obsession. Years later, Ganesh and Dharmaraj read in the newspaper that a merchant ship called the London Valour had sunk in the ocean, killing everyone aboard. Among the listed dead was S. Ramaswami, the very servant who had worked in their household. They were deeply sad, and one friend even traveled to Genoa where the disaster occurred. Months later, to their shock, Ramaswami suddenly appeared at Ganesh's door, flashing his characteristic smile. When asked, Ramaswami explained that he had been removed from the voyage at the last minute in Calcutta because the sandwich he ate in the mess had made him ill. Another S. Ramaswami, not their Ramaswami, had died in the disaster. Ganesh and Ramaswami's friends were moved by learning how much they had cared for him. Some time later, rumors circulated that Ramaswami had gone to his village to rescue his father from his stepmother's harassment, but the story evolved and changed. Eventually, Ramaswami appeared and explained he had gone to seek the blessings of his elders before sailing abroad. He had managed to enroll himself as a sailor on a merchant ship bound for Panama, despite having no formal education, money, or influence. His obsession with sailing had been realized. Years later, he reappeared, six feet tall, with luxuriant whiskers, and loaded with duty-free gifts for everyone. He spoke excitedly about places he had visited and experiences at sea, though his Tamil accent made the foreign names and places difficult to understand, including New York, Puerto Rico, and San Francisco. The story ends with Ramaswami's successful transformation from a house servant with a dream to a merchant sailor who had actually achieved his obsession.

Shanti the maid:

Geetha hires a young maid named Shanti who is initially clumsy and breaks many vessels but improves with time. Shanti begins secretly meeting Satish, a servant boy from the neighboring house, in the garage. Neighbors gossip about their meetings. When Satish attempts to hold Shanti's hand and propose marriage by imitating Hindi movie romantic gestures, Shanti misinterprets it as improper touching and becomes traumatized, screaming that he assaulted her. Her neighbor Majumdar clarifies that Satish simply wanted to propose, not assault her. Devastated and unable to recover from the incident, Shanti leaves and returns to her village. Shortly after, Satish also disappears to his village. The cook reveals they are from the same village, implying they have gone back together. Geetha and Ganesh hire a new maid at double the previous salary.

[Vinay Nair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get a glimpse of south (Tamil) during 80-90s

[Namrata · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s about all those characters that we encountered growing up. This book is great for nostalgia value and relatable encounters but the language is very plain and uninteresting and is nowhere close to his brother’s wit or style . His illustrations of the characters are fun and accurate but he should just stick to his forte, cartooning.

[Abhishek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good anecdotes, very well written but feels monotonous after reading few of them.

[Sukaina Majeed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ganesh a Journalist when sits down to write about the Servants of India he discovers such enthralling and humourous stories that leave you in laughing splits. Each of the stories also represents the lifestyle of the new middle class that came up in the late 80s and early nineties who too dreamed to live a life of luxury like the rich and with the rich came this servants that became the part and parcel of their lives and without whom we can not see our house function. Set in 2000, the book gives the reader a taste of their own medicine and reveals the emotional connect and the middle class was living the luxurious lifestyle because of these servants. The stories capture the employers state of mind and the relationship or bond the employer makes with the servants and R.K. Laxman's writing brings more flavour in the human psyche of "Jhanjhat" a hindi slang and what really goes in the minds of people and why these stories remind us to not underestimate the power of the poor and much before the concept of doing your own work came in, first came the need for a driver,a cook,a cleaner or an Ayah. Definitely worth your time and humor at its best.

[Somdutta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Household helps, drivers, cooks etc. form an essential part of the Indian household. Life of the inmates of a household often comes to a standstill without their presence. This book is a collection of stories of helps who keep the Indian household running smoothly or sometimes throw the functioning of a household into a turmoil. This collection is a mixed bag of emotions and experiences.

[Aranya Iyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting first couple of reads. But not really much more to it. Quite a few grammatical errors too.

[Debalina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Going by the title, anyone accustomed to R. K. Laxman would assume this to be a book on the esteemed politicians of our country, but it is not so! This book is basically about the most important person in the Indian household - the servant, something that is even unheard of in our western counterparts of similar social status. For Indians, the servant of the house is of utmost importance for the plethora of activities they perform at lower rates which constantly seem to rise, and the topic is worrisome as well due to their unpredictability, inefficiency or sheer unavailability. And our dear Mr. Laxman tries to write by hand a picture of the helping hand.

In a single sentence, it is a nice little book. So, this review is going to be a short and a crisp one. The first two stories were amusing enough. A crook handyman and another cook who emerge as a priest and motivational speaker after taking a well-informed leave respectively. The following stories are ordinary incidents narrated with Laxman's signature satire and sense of humour. They do give you his perspective and Indian people's outlook of the servant condition of India, but I would especially mention (not spoil!) two of his servant stories which I actually loved very much.

...

For the next part of this so-detailed review, please visit ' http://dbthetablesareturned.blogspot.... ' only if you have a bit more patience than usual.

Happy reading! :)

[Srikumar Krishna Iyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little collection of stories by R.K.Laxman.
Sounds a little weird to write a collection of stories on the Servant hired by his friends.
But nevertheless, all the stories are worth reading, full of wit, typical R.K.Laxman satire and sense of Humour, wish he had written more.
Style is very simple at the same time well written.

Overall, a nice quick & gr8 read!!

[Omkar · Rating 2 out of 5]

An average book... Nothing great...

[Harshit Gupta · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple, engaging book with stories that seem a little true and a little made up. A nice short read.

[Cv · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice short read

[Swagatam Deva Nath · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Indian household is incomplete without a servant. The stories are very much relatable for an Indian. Stories are full of wit, satire and written in a simple manner. Overall a nice little read.