Jayakanthan s novellas Beneath the Banyan Tree and The Saint and theGarland explore the themes of desire and renunciation. Does an ascetiche wrestle with the desires of the flesh which conflict with the yearningsof the soul? Can a person be moulded into a swami or does he have tohear the divine call? And what of those left behind? Aren t marriageand birth a natural and sacred progression of life?Jayakanthan does not flinch from addressing and sometimes attackingthe mores and traditions of society. In the process, he exposes the sensitivehearts that lie beneath the ritual facades.