Season 1

1987 · 16 episodes

The first season follows life in Malgudi through two extended stories. Swami & Friends captures the adventures, friendships, fears and growing pains of young Swami, while Vendor of Sweets shifts focus to Jagan, a traditional father struggling to understand his increasingly modern son. Together, the stories explore childhood, family, generational conflict and the changing face of Indian society.

1Swami and Friends - 01Nine-year-old Swami leads an ordinary schoolboy’s life in Malgudi until the confident Rajam joins his class. Rajam’s arrival immediately creates tension with Swami’s formidable friend Mani, placing Swami awkwardly between the two.
2Swami and Friends - 02With examinations approaching, Swami’s father becomes increasingly strict about his studies. Meanwhile, Swami’s growing friendship with Rajam causes friction among his old friends, until Rajam attempts to bring the quarrelling boys together.
3Swami and Friends - 03Exam fever grips Swami and his friends, with Mani even trying to obtain hints about the question papers. Once the examinations end, the boys celebrate their freedom with an adventurous trip to the old Malgudi fort. IMDb
4Swami and Friends - 04Swami desperately wants a bicycle wheel to use as a hoop and places his trust in a cartman who promises to help him. When the man cheats him, Swami, Mani and Rajam devise a childish plan to recover what he has lost.
5Swami and Friends - 05Swept up in the excitement of India’s independence movement, Swami joins a political protest and gets into serious trouble at school. His punishment leads to a dramatic break with the Mission School and the beginning of a new chapter in his education. IMDb
6Swami and Friends - 06Swami struggles to adjust to the stricter Board School, where homework and compulsory drill leave little time for fun. His spirits rise when Rajam forms the Malgudi Cricket Club and challenges another local team to a match. IMDb
7Swami and Friends - 07As the cricket match approaches, Swami’s school drill repeatedly prevents him from attending practice. His increasingly desperate attempts to escape school obligations end in confrontation, rebellion and an unexpected journey away from Malgudi. IMDb
8Swami and Friends - 08Lost outside Malgudi, Swami is rescued and eventually reunited with his worried family. But his absence has consequences for the cricket team, and worse news follows when he learns that Rajam will soon be leaving Malgudi.
9Vendor of Sweets - 01Jagan is a successful sweet-shop owner whose simple life is shaped by Gandhian ideals and traditional values. His comfortable world is unsettled when his son Mali announces that he intends to abandon his college education.
10Vendor of Sweets - 02Jagan tries to understand Mali’s ambitions while remembering his late wife and the family life they once shared. He discovers that Mali wants to become a writer and is making plans that may take him far beyond Malgudi. IMDb
11Vendor of Sweets - 03Letters from America reveal how rapidly Mali’s outlook is changing and leave Jagan increasingly uneasy about the distance between them. News of Mali’s personal life and impending return also causes Jagan to reflect on his own youth and marriage. TVGuide.com
12Vendor of Sweets - 04Mali returns from America accompanied by Grace, whom he introduces as his wife. While Mali remains distant from his father, Jagan develops an affectionate relationship with Grace and begins sharing memories of his earlier life with her.
13Vendor of Sweets - 05Grace tells Jagan about her background and how she met Mali, while Jagan introduces her to aspects of Indian society and tradition. The uneasy family peace is disrupted when Mali reveals an ambitious plan to manufacture an automated story-writing machine. IMDb
14Vendor of Sweets - 06Jagan is disappointed to discover that Mali has no intention of continuing the family sweet business. As pressure over Mali’s proposed factory grows, Jagan begins reconsidering his relationship with money, work and the business that has defined his life. IMDb
15Vendor of Sweets - 07Mali becomes increasingly resentful of his father’s refusal to support the factory scheme, while tensions also develop between Mali and Grace. Jagan finds himself caught in a family conflict that exposes how little he truly understands his son’s new life. IMDb
16Vendor of Sweets - 08After learning disturbing truths about Mali and Grace’s relationship, Jagan attempts to resolve matters through a traditional marriage. Instead, events force him to confront his failures as a father and reconsider what remains of his attachment to family and worldly life.

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