The Vendor of Sweets Character Analysis

Jagan

The novel’s protagonist, Jagan, is a timid, devout Hindu man in his late 50s who owns a sweet shop in southern India in the 1960s. As a young man, Jagan entered into an arranged marriage… read analysis of Jagan

Mali

Mali, son of Jagan and Ambika, is a sullen, callous, commercially-minded young man living in southern India in the 1960s. Ambika dies when Mali is a child, and Jagan’s resulting breakdown leads to estrangement… read analysis of Mali

Grace

Grace is the daughter of a Korean woman and an American G.I., who brought Grace and her mother to New Jersey and abandoned them there. While at college in Michigan, Grace meets Mali and becomes… read analysis of Grace

The Cousin

The cousin is a friendly busybody who claims to be related to nearly everyone in the southern Indian town of Malgudi, including Jagan. Each day around 4:30 p.m., he stops into Jagan’s sweet shop… read analysis of The Cousin

The Bearded Man

The bearded man, bald but with a full white beard, is the 69-year-old former disciple of a genius carver of religious statues, whom he claims adopted him at age 5 after he was orphaned. Though… read analysis of The Bearded Man

Ambika

Ambika, wife to Jagan and mother to Mali, died of a brain tumor about 10 years before the main events of The Vendor of Sweets. Jagan fell in love with her at first… read analysis of Ambika

Minor Characters

Nataraj

Nataraj is the proprietor of Truth Printing, the print shop that makes Mali’s business prospectus and that Jagan believes will eventually print his monograph on natural diets and health.

Ananda Bhavan owner

The owner of Ananda Bhavan, a restaurant in Malgudi, visits Jagan in an attempt to bully him into raising his prices again after he substantially lowers them.