KOCHI: “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”
The above words by Ruskin Bond strike all the right chords in a young reader’s heart. Probably, nobody could write simple yet deep and nostalgic stories like the beloved Bond. From the exciting escapades of the orphaned 17-year-old boy Rusty (Room on the Roof) to the innocence of a young girl selling baskets on a railway platform in the Night Train to Deoli, Bond’s characters encompass raw human emotions.
As a child, I was introduced to Bond’s stories by my grandfather, and I am extremely grateful to him for that. I was immediately engrossed by the simplicity and soaked-in-solitude style of his writing. His characters are finely etched, pepped up with quirks at times. ‘Mr Bond’, as he is lovingly called by readers, celebrates his 88th birthday today with the release of his new book, How to live your Life, which is packed with all the good advice anyone, any age, would love and benefit from.
A prolific storyteller, Bond was born in the picturesque Kasauli town in Himachal Pradesh. During his school years, he won several writing competitions, including the Hailey Literature Prize and the Irwin Divinity Prize.
At the age of 17, Bond wrote his first novel, The Room on the Roof, which tells the story of an orphaned Anglo-Indian boy living in a European colony in Dehra with his guardian, Mr Harrison, and the missionary’s wife, who wants him to stay away from Indians and groom him as a ‘pure Englishman’.
The novel won Bond the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in 1957.
Years later, in 1992, he was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra. The country honoured him with the Padma Shri in 1999 and Padma Bhushan in 2014. Bond lives with his adopted family in Landour, Mussoorie.
And continues to exude warmth through his words.
Let’s look at some of the interesting characters Bond brought to life with his pen
• Bishnu: The honest, hardworking boy, from the Dust on the Mountain, who goes to Mussoorie to save his family from starvation.
Through him, Bond subtly highlights the grim issues of deforestation and climate change.
• Mehmood: The loving grandfather, from The Kite Maker, who muses on how the world has changed while his grandson Ali flies a kite nearby. Mehmood feels nostalgic about his past, and reminisces the time he was known as a master kite-maker and made dragon and musical kites for Nawaab.
Bond uses natural imagery as a metaphor. He compares Mehmood to a banyan tree, as his hands are gnarled like that of an ancient tree’s roots while Ali is akin to a young mimosa plant, which represents the lad’s vigour.
• Binya: One can never forget the 11-year-old hilly, kind-hearted girl Binya aka Binyadevi, from The Blue Umbrella, who lives with her family in the hills of Garhwal. The story revolves around Binya and her little blue umbrella.
Another interesting character is the antagonist Ram Bharosa, a greedy tea-shop owner, who tries to take hold of Binya’s umbrella.
• Nakoo: The funny and lazy crocodile, from Cricket for the Crocodile, lives in a shallow river adjacent to a playground, where many children play cricket.
Though Nakoo craves juicy human flesh, he never really attacks humans. His presence on the playground rankles the boys and, even after throwing pebbles and stones at him, Nakoo seems immovable!
The best thing about Bond’s short stories is that readers of all ages can relate to them.
His array of stories offers glimpses into the life of ordinary people in small towns, their innocence and their longing for love and friendship. A recurring theme in his works is unrequited love.
In Time Stops at Shamli, the author takes us to a nondescript town where time seems to drag itself.
In this town, Bond meets his first love, a childhood friend. This story will surely take you through a nostalgic journey.
Currently, as birthday wishes pour in, the legendary writer is set to treat his fans with the release of his boyhood memoir series — Listen to Your Heart: The London Adventure — on May 23.
In it, Bond shares memorable experiences from his teenage years and also narrates the fascinating events that led to the making of his first novel, The Room on the Roof.
His latest masterpiece was Song of Forest — a collection of short stories that are comic and gripping. Two of other recent works are All Creatures Great and Small and A Little Book of India: Celebrating 75 years of Independence.
Besides children’s literature, Bond’s work also comprises other genres, ranging from horror to romance to poetry. Well, I plan to celebrate the master storyteller’s birthday by reading his new book How to Live your Life.
Happy Birthday, Mr Bond!
‘Mr Bond’, as he is lovingly called by readers, celebrates his 88th birthday today with the release of his new book, How to live your Life, which is packed with all the good advice anyone, any age, would love and benefit from.