“Book readers are special people, and they will always turn to books as the ultimate pleasure. Those who do not read are the unfortunate ones. There’s nothing wrong with them; but they are missing out on one of life’s compensations and rewards. A great book is a friend that never lets you down. You can return to it again and again and the joy first derived from it will still be there.”
Ruskin Bond
May 19, 1934 was a landmark day for literature as we knew it. For on that day was born a man who, it could be said, created a literary style. A style, so simple yet so poetic and lyrical that it encouraged children to read. The man is Ruskin Bond. He describes himself as an Indian author of British descent. He was born in Kasauli. But family upheavals caused him to spend most of his childhood in Jamnagar and Shimla. Later on, he went to live with his grandmother in Dehradun. While studying at the Bishop Cotton School in Shimla, he won several writing competitions like the Irwin Divinity Prize and the Hailey Literature Prize.
When he finished his schooling he was sent to stay with his aunt in England. It was in England that he began to write his first novel, The Room on the Roof. He tells the story of a 16-year-old orphan who has to live with a strict English guardian. Set in Dehradun, Bond gives a run down of the differences between where the English and the Indians live. Rusty, unable to bear his guardian’s strict rules and often hard conditions, runs away to live with his Indian friends. It is here that Bond so picturesquely draws the contrast from the stark and claustrophobic English part of town with the noise, colour and vibrancy of the Indian quarter. This is a touching story of love and friendship. This book went on to win the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1957, awarded to a British Commonwealth writer under 30.
Interestingly, Bond used his prize money to buy a sea passage back to India. He missed Dehradun so much that he could not bear to stay away. Continuing his story of Room on the Roof, he wrote Vagrants in the Valley.
Bond’s writings are greatly influenced by his life in the hill station. His passion for the hills is so obvious and every story, every line conveys his deep sentiments. He has written more than 30 books for children.
Ghosts and mountains
His two autobiographical works are a revelation. Rain in the Mountains is about the years he spent in Mussoorie. Scenes from a Writer’s Life describes his early years — the first 21 to be precise. It is in …Writer’s Life that he talks about his trip to England, his struggle to find a publisher for his book and his deep yearning to return to India and his beloved mountains.
Ruskin Bond’s books stand out for the uncomplicated language and the imagery it evokes. Reading his description of the bazaar, you are at once transported to the place and you see the clock tower and you walk along with him up the hill taking in the sights and sounds and even take in the smells. What is particularly endearing about his stories is the innocence it portrays. The stories carry with them a suggestion of gullibility and rekindle within you a belief in mankind. In his Rusty books he brings out succinctly the longings of an adolescent boy, his fears and apprehensions and also the high points of his day.
But it is not just the lives of people around him that are of interest. Bond has an unparalleled attraction for the supernatural and the paranormal. This is apparent in Ghost Stories from the Raj, A Face in the Dark and Other Hauntings, A Season of Ghosts and a few more. In Season of Ghosts he begins with a question that is on everyone’s lips, “Sir, do you believe in ghosts?” What is remarkable is his observation that one does not need to believe in ghosts to see them. Another opinion of his is that some ghosts are attached to certain places and sometimes even houses…probably their home? His childhood seems to be replete with ghosts, spirits, apparitions and prets. In his book Stories Short and Sweet he tells the story of a pret in his house. It is amusing yet chilling as he recounts in a matter of fact manner the tricks of the pret. However, it is the denouement that makes you smile. Wilson’s Bridge is another story where the reader is left wondering whether the ghost is a century old or more recent.
In 1992, Ruskin Bond was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for his book Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra, for his role in the growth of children’s literature in India. Our Trees… is an anthology of 14 stories. Many of them are from his life, through his growing years. He brings in his family, friends and people he meets and by the end of the book, the reader knows all the characters well. His descriptions of the small towns and villages he visits are charming.
His sense of humour is understated and unassuming. Tigers for Dinner is a case in point. From the very first page you are laughing, at the tiger, at the khansamah Mehmoud and of course the unforgettable “Carpet Sahib”.
Some of Bond’s books have made it to the movies. A Flight of Pigeons is a historical novel describing an episode during the First War of Independence (1857). It was made into a Hindi film named “Junoon” (1978). Bond even made an appearance in a movie based on his short story. Susanna’s Seven Husbands was filmed as “7 Khoon Maaf” and it is here that Bond made a cameo appearance as a bishop. In 2007, his story The Blue Umbrella was made into a movie for children. It went on to win the National Film Award for Best Children’s Film.
Many of you may have found his stories in your school text books. Stories like Night Train at Deoli and Time Stops at Shamli are timeless and finding them in your textbook is sure respite from the pressures of school life.
Writing about Bond, his books and stories one cannot stop without a mention of Uncle Ken. Crazy Times with Uncle Ken is one atrocious adventure after another. Simple tasks become complicated. We see Uncle Ken as a tutor, learning to drive, dropping young Bond at the station and putting him on the wrong train…the Uncle Ken episodes are endless and provide rib-tickling entertaining.
"Happiness is as exclusive as a butterfly, and you must never pursue it. If you stay very still, it may come and settle on your hand. But only briefly. Savour those moments, for they will not come in your way very often."
Ruskin Bond will be at the Chennai edition of The Hindu Lit for Life on January 11, 12 and 13, 2014.
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