Engine Trouble
R.K. Narayan
Detailed Summary:
Engine Trouble is a humorous short story written by R.K. Narayan, set in the fictional town of Malgudi. The narrator unexpectedly wins a road engine in a lottery at a travelling fair called Gaiety Land. While this seems like a lucky win, it turns into a disaster.
The narrator soon finds himself unable to move or sell the engine. He tries several ways to get rid of it — contacting the showman, the municipality, and even asking the Municipal Chairman to buy it. All efforts fail. Eventually, with the help of a dismissed bus driver named Joseph, fifty coolies, and a temple elephant, he tries to transport the engine to a nearby field. But chaos breaks out when the elephant panics, the engine crashes into a wall, and the narrator is arrested.
After multiple problems and expenses, including paying fines, wages, repair costs, and rent, the narrator is at his wit’s end. However, Nature comes to his rescue. A mild earthquake throws the engine into a disused well. The owner of the property, happy that the well is covered, pays all the narrator’s debts and even offers money (which he refuses). The story ends with relief and irony.
Theme:
- Irony of luck and misfortune
- Overdependence on others
- Human helplessness against absurd situations
- Role of nature in solving man-made problems
- Satirical take on bureaucracy and red tape