We’ve all grown up reading his works. Be it short stories or novels, his simple yet profound writing style has made him one of the greatest writers ever known to us. Born and brought up in the hills, Ruskin Bond’s stories mostly describe the simple mountain life. With his amazing narratives and gripping story lines, Bond has made reading our favourite hobby since childhood. On his 83rd birthday, let us have a look at some of his best works.
- The Room on the Roof: Rusty, a seventeen-year old Anglo-Indian boy, is orphaned and is brought up by Mr. Harrison in Dehradun. Fed up of Mr. Harrison’s stern behaviour Rusty runs away from his home. He meets a group of Indian kids (Somi, Ranbir and Suri) and falls in love with Indian customs, festivals, and food. Somi gets Rusty a job at Mr. Kapoor’s house to give a boy English lessons. In return he is given a room in the attic for shelter. Later he develops a liking for Meena, Kishen’s mother. Gradually, Rusty loses his friends and is surrounded by grief. He then decides to return to England. Kishen, convinces him to stay and the two live together thereafter.
https://goo.gl/4phiR2
- The Blue Umbrella: In a small village of Himachal Pradesh, a little girl, Binya, trades her old leopard claw necklace for a pretty, frilly blue umbrella. While the villagers are fond of the umbrella, the shopkeeper (Ram Bharosa) wants to get that umbrella from Binya. Ram Bharosa employs a boy from the next village named Rajaram to work at the shop. When Rajaram comes to know about his master’s desire to own the umbrella, he offers to steal it for him. Rajaram tries to steal the umbrella but fails. On being caught, he blames Ram Bharosa for his act. Everyone stopped going to Ram Bharosa’s shop. Later Binya gives the umbrella to Ram Bharosa, who returns her favour in future by presenting her a necklace with a bear’s claw.
https://goo.gl/VsCKTh
- A Flight of Pigeons: Ruth Labadoor’s father gets murdered in from of her eyes by the Indian rebels who are a part of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Her mother Mariam Labadoor, takes the entire family of six to their trusted friend Lala Ramjimal. The Pathan leader Javed Khan comes to know about their stay at Lala’s home. He comes to his house unannounced and forcefully takes away Ruth and Mariam Labadoor to his place. Javed Khan pleads to marry Ruth but Mariam opposes it proposal. She is ready to get her daughter married to Javed only if the British are not able to defeat the Indian rebels. The British take the hold of the country and Javed Khan is killed in one of the fights. With some help and support, the Labadoor family finally reach their relatives.
https://goo.gl/SrkSX0
- Angry River: Sita lived with her Grandparents on an island situated in the middle of a river. During the month of Monsoon, grandmother gets very ill and grandfather takes her to the Hospital. Sita is left alone in the house when it begins to pour and the river begins swirls around the island. Everything begins to drown and Sita leaves the island to save her life. A boy, named Krishna, who was rowing a boat, rescues her. Sita later comes to know that her grandmother had died and she returns to the island with her grandfather.
- Getting Granny’s Glasses: Mani, an eleven years old boy lives with his grandmother and father. The grandmother is around 70 years old and has poor eye sight. Mani and his father realise that her glasses are old and full of scratches and that she needs a new one. The three leave for Mussoorie, the nearest town from their village. On their way, they encounter a landslide and they are in a dilemma whether they should go back home or continue the journey. They decide to walk and return home once they have a brand-new pair of glasses for Granny, a pair of shoes for Mani, a pullover for Mani’s father, along with other things.
http://amzn.to/2rl6Y8t
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