Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard

Everything I want in a book: engaging characters, a bit of a plot, a little fun, a tiny bit of underlying seriousness. Sampath Chawla has grown up to become quite a disappointment to his family. He works in a post office where he spends most of his time reading the mail that comes through the office. His father is in despair; Sampath has no ambition. One day, Sampath leaves his job and, almost without thinking much about it, climbs up into a guava tree. He doesn't come down. As time passes, a mythology about Sampath begins to develop, and villagers come to sit under his tree, observe Sampath's tranquil state, and ask questions of Sampath. Sampath becomes known as a holy man.

There's more, involving monkeys and romance, bitten-off ears and spies for an atheist group, but you get the idea. Fun, but not necessarily frivolous.