Ruskin Bond? Ruskin Bond!
"Who is your favourite author?", Papa asked.
"Hmmm.... Ruskin Bond."
"Ruskin Bond!?"
I am sure my father was judging me at that moment. He was probably thinking that he left my education incomplete!
Truth is I have read works which are far more gripping (Mario Puzo- The Godfather), scintillating (Rabindranath Tagore), exciting (Issac Asimov, Michael Crichton). Even beautiful (Balzak and the little Chinese seamstress). Funny (PG Wodehouse, Gerald Durrel, Bill Bryson, Douglas Adams- wow! long list). Moving (Harper Lee- To kill a mockingbird). Impactful (Karl Marx, and alas! Ayn Rand). None have the quality that bonds me to Bond.
What is this quality? Tranquility? Simplicity? Innocence? Honesty?
I have never been let down by a Ruskin Bond book. He has always transported me into a world where hills become their own person and the river is a not so quiet observer. He strikes a chord with the child in all his readers, with his free-spirited appeal. You can actually be his Arjun or Suraj or Koki. You know how Ranji would have felt losing the match. Grown-ups become children and children are never dismissed as inconsequential.
His books are like comfort food. They make you feel warm inside, and happy. Even when they are sad. They evoke such nostalgia! If I were to look outside of my window for days at end, I would see life pass me by just like his books describe it to.
His travelogues transport you to the place in all its grandeur. Only if the writer is close to nature in the way Ruskin Bond is, can he empathize so well with his fellow creatures. His animals have character. In his stories, trees are not just the leafy surrounding, they are the forbears of dreams, mischief and magic.
As a child I read a translation of one of his stories called 'Earthquake'. Definitely one of his lesser read works. I have held on to that book and re-read it innumerable times. Still continue to do so. There is nothing amazing about the story. But, every time I read it, it reassures me that every problem has a solution. That I have my angels, my family to fall back on. That I have the strength to start all over. When I read it as a child it imparted this very positivity in me. I may not have been able to articulate it so clearly, but I felt so- always.
Dream is to meet him and get a book signed. Inshahallah! It shall happen. For his books truly are the keepers of the Hills. They take me there whenever I ask them to!
"Hmmm.... Ruskin Bond."
"Ruskin Bond!?"
I am sure my father was judging me at that moment. He was probably thinking that he left my education incomplete!
Truth is I have read works which are far more gripping (Mario Puzo- The Godfather), scintillating (Rabindranath Tagore), exciting (Issac Asimov, Michael Crichton). Even beautiful (Balzak and the little Chinese seamstress). Funny (PG Wodehouse, Gerald Durrel, Bill Bryson, Douglas Adams- wow! long list). Moving (Harper Lee- To kill a mockingbird). Impactful (Karl Marx, and alas! Ayn Rand). None have the quality that bonds me to Bond.
What is this quality? Tranquility? Simplicity? Innocence? Honesty?
I have never been let down by a Ruskin Bond book. He has always transported me into a world where hills become their own person and the river is a not so quiet observer. He strikes a chord with the child in all his readers, with his free-spirited appeal. You can actually be his Arjun or Suraj or Koki. You know how Ranji would have felt losing the match. Grown-ups become children and children are never dismissed as inconsequential.
His books are like comfort food. They make you feel warm inside, and happy. Even when they are sad. They evoke such nostalgia! If I were to look outside of my window for days at end, I would see life pass me by just like his books describe it to.
His travelogues transport you to the place in all its grandeur. Only if the writer is close to nature in the way Ruskin Bond is, can he empathize so well with his fellow creatures. His animals have character. In his stories, trees are not just the leafy surrounding, they are the forbears of dreams, mischief and magic.
As a child I read a translation of one of his stories called 'Earthquake'. Definitely one of his lesser read works. I have held on to that book and re-read it innumerable times. Still continue to do so. There is nothing amazing about the story. But, every time I read it, it reassures me that every problem has a solution. That I have my angels, my family to fall back on. That I have the strength to start all over. When I read it as a child it imparted this very positivity in me. I may not have been able to articulate it so clearly, but I felt so- always.
Dream is to meet him and get a book signed. Inshahallah! It shall happen. For his books truly are the keepers of the Hills. They take me there whenever I ask them to!
Comments
I agree with every word. Maybe, we should go to Mussorie, soon sometime and catch him for that impending autograph. And we'll give him a copy of
What better way to start a blog!
btw there are other entries too.... 4 of them just below this :) :)
having read his books I feel like I know the hills. There's one sentence I could never forget -- 'For october is a kind month.' It's not so in Delhi, but I can never think of October any other way :)
Oh, I do have a book of something autographed by Ruskin Bond! He was such a genuinely warm person to meet! Must dig it out and share with you :) You give me Earthquake the next time we meet?