This is a short biography of younger Ruskin Bond, life
stories mostly from the days when he was growing up. And a few of them are from
recent past. This book is a collection of sixteen stories and they are a lot
more than fairy tales.
‘Escape from Java’ was no less adventure for young Bond. The
aircraft he took along with his father and co-passengers to fly to India
crashes into the sea and all the passengers stay afloat for days until help
arrives. Other tales reflect the author’s relationship with his parents,
grandparents and childhood friends.
Losing his loving father would have been painful for young
Bond as one of the chapters show the melancholy, hardships to be faced when one
loses his loved ones. Probably that incident would have made Bond an inward
looking person and pick writing as a profession.
Few chapters are about his encounters with birds and
animals in his grandparent’s house, learning to swim in a pond along with
buffaloes, Tonga rides etc. And they all have the flavor of Bond, appreciation
of nature, an irritation towards those who cut trees in the name of
development, details of landmarks and the memories attached to them.
The story ‘What’s your dream?’ shows the mistake most of us
do in our lives. It says the difficult times come when one realizes his dream. He
then moves on to bigger dreams, and takes things for granted, but risks losing
it all, even the first dream too may vanish.
Reading Bond can make one enjoy things what he has, appreciate
what nature has given to us and not to be greedy. I am sure to read more of Ruskin Bond.
No comments:
Post a Comment