Master Manjunath, remembered by generations of readers and viewers as Swamy from the television series Malgudi Days based on R.K. Narayan’s book, recently shared a very different kind of milestone on social media, his son Vedanth has retained his national swimming titles with his school team.
The boys had won the same national titles in 2025 too. The achievement came at the ISSO National Swimming Championship in Pune, where Vedanth and his teammates Tanay, Kabir and Ayaan from Neev Academy won gold in both the 4x100m Medley Relay and 4x100m Freestyle Relay.
Manjunath wrote in his post, celebrating what he called a “back-to-back” championship victory. And this wasn’t their first time standing on top of the podium. “Gold is even better the second time around! For many who grew up with Swami and Friends, Master Manjunath is still closely associated with Swamy, the mischievous schoolboy at the heart of R.K. Narayan’s fictional world of Malgudi. The character came from a very different era, when childhood meant school corridors, friendships, homework, playground adventures and the small dramas that could feel enormous to a child. Decades later, Manjunath’s social media post offered a glimpse into another chapter of his life: not as the schoolboy everyone remembers, but as a father celebrating his own child’s achievement. And there was no shortage of pride in his words. The most striking part of Manjunath’s post, however, may be the dates.
2025. 2026. The boys have now retained their national titles for a second consecutive year. Manjunath ended his post by looking ahead rather than back, writing that he was already “looking forward to the Hattrick Next Year! For a man still remembered by many simply as Swamy, the post offered a surprisingly personal glimpse into life beyond the character that made him familiar. The little boy from Malgudi belongs to another time.
Today, Master Manjunath is celebrating a different young boy, his son, standing on a national podium, gold medal in hand, with another championship already in sight.