STUDY OF NATURE IN THE SELECTED STORIES OF RUSKIN BOND

RESEARCH FUNDING COUNCIL
FOR MINOR RESEARCH PROJECTS
A
Minor Research Project on
STUDY OF NATURE IN THE SELECTED
STORIES OF RUSKIN BOND
Financial Assistance Ref. No. MRP(H)-1833/11-12/KUKU045/UGC-SWRO
Dated 28th September 2012
Submitted By
NAVEENA V
Principal Investigator
And Assistant Professor,
Department of English,
Government First Grade College,
KOPPA-577 126,
Chikkamagaluru District, Karnataka, INDIA.
Proposal Submitted to:
UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION
SOUTH-WESTERN REGIONAL OFFICE
Prasana Kumar Block, Palace Road,
Bangalore - 560 009 (Karnataka)
For Financial Support
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Acknowledgements:
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the UGC for having given me an
opportunity to take up this work, which I believe would throw some light on a few
aspects of the works of Ruskin Bond, a wonderful writer of our time.
My thanks are due to principal at Government First Grade College, Koppa, Sri Venkatesh
K C, Manager at the office Sri Ganapathi H S, colleagues Dr Prasanna Kumara B C,
Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Librarian Sri Shivakumar A S and all the other
colleagues for their timely assistance throughout the project period.
Thanks are due to the librarians and staff of the Kuvempu University, University of
Mysore and Bangalore University for their assistance in finding material for the research.
Many of my friends and well-wishers have indeed helped me in the successful
completion of this project in different ways. My sincere thanks are to all those people.
I would also like to thank my wife Chaya, kids Siri and Pari for the best reasons I know!
Naveena V
Assistant Professor
Date: 01-03-2015
Place: Koppa
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CONTENTS:
Chapter
Chapter
Page Number
Chapter One
Introduction
03
Chapter Two
Ruskin Bond – The Author
08
Chapter Three:
Major Works of Ruskin Bond
13
Chapter Four:
Treatment of Nature in Ruskin Bond‟s
18
Selected Stories
Chapter Five:
Bond in comparison with Wordsworth
85
and Hardy
Chapter Six:
Conclusion
90
Bibliography
94
3
CHAPTER - 1
INTRODUCTION:
4
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION:
Ruskin Bond who turned 80 last year on 19th May 2014 is a prolific writer from
India. Bond, whose literary career spans across more than 60 years, has produced more
than 300 short stories, number of poems, a few novellas (they can even be called long
short stories), essays, books for children and very few novels.
Ruskin Bond identified his zeal for writing at a very early stage in his life. At the
age of seventeen itself he published his first novel „A Room On the Roof‟ and the work
won him the prestigious John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial prize in the year 1957. Since
then he has been writing and has not stopped. Even though Bond tried to earn his
livelihood by a very few other professions, he did not stay long there as his passion lied
only with writing.
Ruskin Bond who has been living in Landour, near Massouri for more than five
decades can be best hailed as a writer of nature. Probably living close to nature for more
than 50 years has made him include nature as an obvious part of his writings. One can
identify a strong presence of nature in most works of Bond. This is even evident in the
very titles of his few books vis a vis., Ruskin Bond- Nature Omnibus, Book of Nature etc.
Nature has been at the receiving end in the present days. Man‟s greed for money,
callousness attitude towards the same, merciless killing of animals has left the nature
perishing with each passing day. Man has defaced mountains, butchered countless
animals thus pushing many of them to the verge of extinction, changed the course of
rivers, built huge dams across rivers thus checking the free flow of water, dug thousands
of feet into the core of earth to extract minerals, recklessly polluted the living forces of
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nature like earth, water and air but all in the name of progress and accomplishment. This
careless attitude of man has witnessed several repercussions. Gradual increase in
atmosphere‟s temperature, raise in the water level of seas and oceans, ecological
imbalance, breaking of natural food chain, twisters and tsunamis etc. In spite of all these
counter adversities, man has never learnt a lesson. He has not learnt to live in tune with
nature.
However, not all human beings show this callous attitude towards nature.
Scientists and intellectuals have risen to the occasion to fight the injustices thrust upon by
insensitive men towards nature. Litterateurs, in subtle ways, have shown their concern for
the nature. Through many genres, they have tried to portray nature in its myriad shades.
These immortal artists have tried to showcase the glorious, ugly and violent face of
nature in their literary works.
Many great writers from the West like William Wordsworth, Thomas Hardy,
Robert Frost and many others are best known for their portrayal of nature. Wordsworth is
known as „High priest of nature‟ as his literary canvas is filled with different colours of
nature. Thomas Hardy is also known for his Wessex novels which predominantly deal
with natural settings of that area. Nature was dear even for Robert Frost, an American
poet. His literary works are also abundant with descriptions of nature. A descriptive
analysis of Wordsworth and Hardy‟s works and a comparative study will be made in the
later part of this study.
Even in India, many writers have brought in nature in their writings. Nature has
occupied significant presence in writers from pre-independent Indian writers to post
independent Indian writers. Kamala Markandaya, Manohar Malgonkar, Amitav Ghosh,
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Arundhadi Roy and Ruskin Bond are a few to name. Among these, Ruskin Bond whose
writing career spans across six decades always has taken interest in writing about the
divine beauty of hills, bowers and glades of Himalayas and elsewhere might be because
of his long association with beautiful cities Massouri and Dehradun. It appears as if even
the smallest component of nature has inspired him to produce wonderful tales of beauty,
it seems Bond has derived inspiration for life even from a small tendril, a small, soft and
silky blossom over the valley etc., as his writings are abundant with scenes from nature
and the animal world. The present research has made an attempt to study such portrayal
of nature in Ruskin Bond‟s selected writings.
The second chapter has been devoted to introduce the author Ruskin Bond. It is
unfortunate that a writer of Ruskin Bond‟s stature has been categorized as a writer for
children. He has not been studied seriously in the academic circle. Not much of research
has taken place with regard to Bond‟s works of literature. It is a well-known fact that
Bond‟s writings are autobiographical or semi-autobiographical in nature. He has drawn
inspiration for writing from his own life most of the times. Without reading about his life,
studying his works of literature seems to be incomplete. Hence, this chapter tries to focus
on the very great literary genius Ruskin Bond.
The third chapter introduces the works of Ruskin Bond. In his long career of more
than six decades, Bond has had an undying passion for writing. He has experimented with
various genres. Though Bond has tried to write predominantly for children and young
adults, at times, he has produced works of great literature for all ages and they are about
different themes. Most readers of even Ruskin Bond may not be aware of the fact that
Bond was dragged to the court of law on charges of writing obscene content in one of his
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popular book (The Sensualist). In a sense, he was equated with a writer like D H
Lawrence. A well-known writer like Khushwanth Singh had to appear in court to defend
Ruskin Bond at that time. This chapter tries to bring to the foreground a few of his
renowned masterpieces.
The fourth chapter focuses on the study of nature in Ruskin Bond‟s selected
stories/writings. The purpose of the whole study is to concentrate on this aspect and the
chapter in detail tries to analyze how nature has been portrayed in Bond‟s literature. As
already mentioned Bond has a long association with nature due to his humble living in
the midst of it for nearly sixty years. Throughout his life, Bond has observed keenly the
different shades of nature. Mountains, rivers, valleys, glades, bowers, forests and animals
have been his companions in his literary world as in his real life. The physical nature
surrounding human beings brings out the real nature of man many a times. The chapter
throws light on such aspects of human nature too. The researcher even tries to study
nature in Bond‟s works from the eco-critical perspective.
The fifth chapter evaluates Ruskin Bond‟s writings with that of the writings of
Wordsworth and Thomas Hardy. Even these writers are known for their association with
nature and their portrayal of nature in their literary works. Hence, an attempt will be
made to compare between these writers and their works with Bond. However, this won‟t
be a detailed analysis of each and every work of Bond and that of Wordsworth and Hardy
as it requires a larger space altogether.
The sixth chapter would be the concluding chapter. In this chapter, the findings of
the study will be analyzed and the results are given.
In the last part of the dissertation a detailed bibliography will be given.
8
CHAPTER 2:
RUSKIN BOND: THE AUTHOR
9
CHAPTER 2:
RUSKIN BOND: THE AUTHOR
Ruskin Bond, the much adulated internationally acknowledged author was born on 19th
May 1934 in a military hospital in Kasauli, in the then Punjab region but now in
Himarchal Pradesh to the first generation migrants Edith Clerke and Aubrey Bond. Bond
had two siblings by name Ellen and William. His father used to serve in the Royal Air
Force. When Bond was only four years old, his mother severed her ties with her husband
and married a Punjabi-Hindu named Mr. Hari, who himself had been married once. Due
to this reason, Bond had a great attachment to his father than to his mother. Bond‟s
writings are autobiographical and semi-autobiographical in nature and one can easily
mark these reminiscences of his relationship with his father in many of his works.
Bond spent his early childhood in Jamnagar, Shimla and Dehradun.
Unfortunately, Bond lost his father at a tender age of ten to Malaria. Later, he went to live
with his grandmother's house in Dehradun. Bond completed much of his schooling
at Bishop Cotton‟s School in Shimla, from where he graduated in the year 1952 after
winning several writing competitions in the school like the Irwin Divinity Prize and the
Hailey Literature Prize.
As a customary practice at that time, Bond journeyed to England after his high
school education. He stayed in his aunt‟s house at England for four years. But, his mind
lingered still with India as he had developed a great affinity with the scintillating beauty
of Himalayas. Once, when asked Bond about how he felt living in India, he had said that
it was stressful in the practical sense when compared to England, however, at the end of
the day, India was his home.
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The writer in Bond took shape when he was in England. Bond started writing his
first semi-autobiographical novel, The Room on the Roof, in London at the age of 17. The
novel was about an orphaned boy called Rusty, his unforgettable friends and experiences.
Even he had tried to capture the adored beauty of the great Himalayas in the novel, which
was something new in that period. The novel was published when Bond was 21. It won
him the prestigious John Llewellyn Rhys prize in 1957, which was being awarded to a
British Commonwealth writer under 30.
After the The Room on the Roof, Bond published its sequel Vagrants in the
Valley. Even this novel was received well (These two novels were published in one
volume by Penguin India in 1993). Riding on the success of these two novels, Bond
decided to return to India, his home. In fact, Bond made use of the advance money from
The Room on the Roof to pay for the sea journey to Bombay.
Once, back in India, Bond tried to eke out living working as a journalist. He
worked for some years in Delhi and Dehradun. Since 1964, he has been living as a
freelance writer in Landour, Mussoorie‟s Ivy Cottage, a town in the Himalayan foothills.
Bond never married and he has been living with his adopted family in Mussoorie.
As a writer, Bond has had several accomplishments. He has more than 300
stories, more than 30 books for children, essays and novels to his credit. He has also
produced two volumes of auto-biography Scene’s from A Writer’s Life. The Lamp is Lit is
a collection of essays and episodes from his journal. Bond‟s voluminous writings are
published by well-known publishers like Rupa Publications India Pvt. Ltd. and Penguin
Books. They have also found space in national and international print media. His stories
11
have made inroads to school curricula as well. Bond‟s writings, especially, his stories are
favorite among school and college students.
Many of Ruskin Bond‟s works are fictionalized or made into movies. Junoon, a
Hindi movie of 1979 was based on his novel The Flight of Pigeons. BBC produced a TV
series using Bond‟s debutant novel The Room on the Roof. The much popular children‟s
novella The Blue Umbrella has also been made a Hindi film by Vishal Bharadwaj in 2007
using a versatile actor like Pankaj Kapoor. The movie even won Vishal Bharadwaj the
National Award for Best Children‟s Film. Similarly, Bond‟s novel Susanna’s Seven
Husbands was made another Bollywood movie titled Saath Khoon Maaf in 2011. These
have only added to Bond‟s popularity.
It is not a much known factor that as a writer even Bond has had a bitter
experience like many when trying out with different genres and experimenting with
themes. Bond produced a novella titled The Sensualist in the year 1999. It was about
physical passion and human desire. Obviously, the book was not meant for children. The
story was serialized in a Bomby magazine titled Debonair over four issues. After a few
months, Bond was arrested on charges of obscenity. It was the time of Emergency (197576) where journalists and writers did not have that much of freedom of expression. Bond
recalls that a sympathetic judge in Mussoorie gave him bail. Then Bond went to Bombay
to plead not guilty before a stern and apparently uncompromising judge. The case
dragged on for a couple of years. In the middle of it all, the public prosecutor died of
heart attack. Even the people who had filed criminal case of obscenity against Bond also
lost interest in the case. Debonair made a vigorous defence, and popular writers like
12
Nissim Ezekiel and Vijay Tendulkar defended Bond. As a result, Bond was acquitted of
the obscenity charge. Bond might never forget this harrowing experience in life!
Recognizing Ruskin Bond‟s untiring stint with writing, as a mark of respect to
such spirit the Government of India honoured him with the prestigious Padmashree award
in the year 1999. Ruskin Bond is also the recipient of the Sahitya Academy award in
1992 for English Writing in India. Recently, Bond was conferred with Lifetime
Achievement Award by the Government of Delhi in 2012.
13
CHAPTER 3:
MAJOR WORKS OF RUSKIN BOND
14
CHAPTER 3:
MAJOR WORKS OF RUSKIN BOND
Ruskin Bond has successfully tried and written variety of genres. His writings chiefly
include his autobiography (Even though it cannot be called so in strict terms), Essays,
Poems, Novels, Memoirs, and short stories. These writings are published individually and
are also included in anthologies. Two publishers have chiefly published Bond‟s books;
Rupa Publications India Pvt. Ltd. and Penguin Books. One curious thing about Bond‟s
writings is that a few of his stories have different titles in different books. For instance, a
story titled „The Cherry Tree‟ appears in the anthology „Dust on the Mountain: Collected
Stories‟ published by Penguin Books. But the same story appears with the title „A Special
Tree‟ in an anthology titled „Great Stories for Children‟ published by Rupa Publications
India Pvt. Ltd. His stories appear in different anthologies and they often get repeated.
Given below is a list of books published by the aforementioned two publishers. The list
also includes books edited by Bond.
Books written and edited by Ruskin Bond:
The Room on the Roof
Angry River
A Little Night Music
A Long Walk for Bina
Hanuman to the Rescue
Ghost Stories from the Raj
Strange Men, Strange Places
The India I Love
15
Tales and Legends from India
The Blue Umbrella
Ruskin Bond‟s Children‟s Omnibus
Romi and the Wildfie
When the Tiger was King
School Days
School Times
Funny Side Up
Roads to Mussoorie
All Roads Lead to Ganga
The Rupa Book of Great Animal Stories
The Rupa Book of True Tales of Mystery and Adventure
The Rupa Book of Ruskin Bond‟s Himalayan Tales
The Rupa Book of Great Suspense Stories
The Rupa Laughter Omnibus
The Rupa Book of Haunted Houses
The Rupa Book of Travellers‟ Tales
The Rupa Book of Great Crime Stories
The Rupa Book of Nightmare Stories
The Rupa Book of Shikar Stories
The Rupa Book of Love Stories
The Rupa Book of Wicked Stories
The Rupa Book of Heartwarming Stories
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The Rupa Book of Thrills and Spills
The Rupa Carnival of Terror
The Rupa Book of Snappy Surprises
Shudders in the Dark
Stories Short and Sweet
Dust on the Mountain: Collected Stories
A Town Called Dehra: New Delhi, Penguin Books, 2008
Landour Days: A Writer‟s Journal: New Delhi, Penguin Books, 2005
Book of Humour: New Delhi, Penguin Books, 2008
A Season of Ghosts: New Delhi, Penguin Books, 1999
A Face in the Dark and Other Hauntings: Collected Stories of the Supernatural: New
Delhi, Penguin Books, 2009
Mr Oliver‟s Diary: New Delhi, Puffin Books, 2010
Hip – Hop Nature Boy and Other Poems: New Delhi, Penguin Books, 2012
The Hidden Pool: Ruskin Bond‟s First Novel for Children: New Delhi, Penguin Books,
2005
Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra: New Delhi, Penguin Books, 1991
The Parrot Who Wouldn‟t Talk and Other Stories: New Delhi, Puffin Books, 2008
The Night Train at Deoli and Other Stories: New Delhi, Penguin Books, 1988
The Adventures of Rusty: Collected Stories: New Delhi, Puffin Books, 2012
Ruskin Bond‟s Green Book: Ed. New Delhi, Roli Books, 2011
Rain in the Mountains: Notes from the Himalayas: New Delhi, Penguin Books, 1996
Classic Ruskin Bond: New Delhi, Penguin Books, 2010
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Crazy Times with Uncle Ken: New Delhi, Puffin Books, 2011
The Lamp is Lit: Leaves from a Journal: New Delhi, Penguin Books, 1998
Scenes from a Writer‟s Life: New Delhi, Penguin Books, 1997
Notes from a Small Room: New Delhi, Penguin Books, 2009
The Sensualist: New Delhi, Penguin Books, 2009
Friends in Small Places: New Delhi, Penguin Books, 2000
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CHAPTER 4:
TREATMENT OF NATURE IN RUSKIN
BOND’S SELECTED STORIES
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CHAPTER 4:
TREATMENT OF NATURE IN RUSKIN BOND’S SELECTED STORIES
Nature has been a source of inspiration for many of us to learn the lessons of
togetherness, to explore the intricate web of life, and to rejuvenate ourselves when we are
tired of the humdrum of our life.
Nature has been Ruskin Bond‟s favorite companion in his writings. In most of the
works, he uses the settings of nature which enhance the beauty of his writings. The
natural settings of Himalayas, the valleys of Dehradoon, the gorgeous city of Mussurie,
tales of encounter with myriad animals, the minute details of flora and fauna of the region
in addition to the timeless characters add beauty and grace to the cherishable writings of
Bond.
Even though Bond has been living in a city that is in the midst of nature, he does
not like the city life as such. Bond says, “In an odd way, it was my reaction to city life
that led to my taking a greater interest in the natural world. Up to that time, I had taken it
all for granted1.” (Book of Nature, p 39).
The hustle-bustle of city might never have attracted him. Hence, the writer feels
safer at nights as Landour, a hilly town that is devoid of any untoward incidents at that
time. His keen observation of animals extends even to such periods. The nightlife of
animals is more interesting than that of human beings. Recalling such nights Bond
writes:
“Walking home at midnight in Landour can be quite eventful, but in a different
way. One is conscious all the time of the silent life in the surrounding trees and
bushes. I have smelt a leopard without seeing it. I have seen jackals on the prowl.
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I have watched foxes dance in the moonlight. I have seen flying squirrels flit from
one treetop to another. I have observed pine martens on their nocturnal journeys,
and listened to the calls of nightjars and owls and other birds who live by night2.”
(Book of Nature, p 46)
Bond adores each and every element of nature. Rivers, trees, plants, shrubs, animals and
birds make his world of writing. In this world of writing, children often make their
appearance. It is through the combination of these two worlds; the natural and the human
world, Bond has created numerous memorable pieces of fiction. In his engagement with
nature, Bond has paid importance to a few themes. These themes have been elaborated
with examples from several writings.
Afforestation:
Children are the future citizens. It is for them that the future world has to be preserved.
Such a world must be free from pollution of any kind, pure and serene. One should love
to live in that beautiful world. All this care has to be taken as the present world we are
living is becoming a place whose condition is deteriorating with each passing day. We,
humans, have become materialistic in our attitude and outlook and we do not care for
others. In our craze for modernity and advancement in each and everything, we have
begun to alter, destruct and disturb the elements and forces of nature. In our madness to
rule over others, we have begun to exploit not only human beings but also the physical
environment. People have started to move out of villages in search of the „artificial
security and comfort‟ that could be found in cities. For this purpose, more and more cities
are being „designed and constructed.‟
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In this modern era, man‟s attitude towards forests and their denizens is a
debatable issue. Due to increased urbanization, he has begun to sever forests like never
before. Raising population and man‟s greed for land and material comforts have resulted
in dwindling of the forest space and driving the animals from their safe havens. Man‟s
unexplainable madness to rule over the dumb animals in the past had resulted in hunting
them in the wild due to which hundreds of animals used to lose their lives. Human
beings‟ devotion towards divine beings was also a cause of hunting animals in a large
scale. These beliefs still exist even in the most advanced scientific era and animals of the
forest are getting butchered mercilessly in the name of divine worship. Many species of
animals have reached the verge of extinction and many more have already been wiped
out from the face of the earth! In a few hundred years, it is doubtful whether there will be
any forest or its inhabitants. One may have to see them only in museums as already been
predicted and fancied by many scientists and environmentalists.
In such a scenario, more awareness needs to be inculcated in the minds of youth
and children to have a „compassionate‟ attitude towards forests and the animals of the
forests. Such an endeavor has already begun through writings for children and youth.
This kind of writings can be found in school text books and also non-academic writings
by popular writers. Ruskin Bond is also one such writer whose writings are chiefly for
children and young adults who have been enjoying also learning a lot from these
writings. As it is often mentioned, throughout the study, nature has been a predominant
presence in the writings of Bond. By introducing nature as one of his major characters,
Bond tries to emphasize the fact that nature is obligatory for one‟s life and without it we
cannot survive. More and more forests and lot more animals are the need of the hour. He
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wishes the young readers to comprehend this fact so that they know the importance of our
natural world.
„The Cherry Tree‟ (A Special Tree in some editions) is one such story which
speaks about the vitality of having trees in one‟s arena. Through a simple narration of
growing a cherry tree, Bond teaches the readers about the very process of afforestation.
The story is about a boy named Rakesh and his grandfather. One day while coming from
school, Rakesh buys a bunch of cherries. By the time he reaches home, he is left with
only three cherries and others he has already eaten. On reaching home, he offers his
grandfather one cherry and eats the other two. He wishes to keep the seed of the last
cherry fruit assuming that it is a lucky one. But, grandfather suggests him to plant the
seed as nothing is lucky unless it is put to use.
So, Rakesh plants the cherry seed and forgets about it over a period of time. After
a few months, one fine morning he finds a small plant where he had planted the seed. He
identifies the plant as the one born out of the seed that he had planted some time ago.
Grandfather suggests him to rear the plant well. Rakesh begins to take utmost care of the
plant henceforth. He waters the plant even in rainy season so that the plant would know
that he is there always. He circles the plant with pebbles so as to provide some „secrecy‟
for the plant!
The cherry plant grows to be a full-grown tree over a period of time but not
devoid of a few untoward incidents. Even when it is a small plant, a goat enters the
garden and eats the plant leaving only the main stem and two thin branches. Rakesh gets
upset and assumes that it would die. But the grandfather assures that it would grow again.
He says:
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“Never mind, It will grow again, cherry trees are tough.”
The plant does not disappoint Rakesh, it sprouts new leaves towards the end of the rainy
season. But on another occasion, a woman, in her attempt to cut down the thick grown
monsoon foliage, even cuts the cherry plant into two. Now both Rakesh and grandfather
feel sorry for the plant. Bond has a few beautiful lines here at this juncture:
“May be it will die now,” said Rakesh.
“May be,” said Grandfather.
But, the cherry tree had no intention of dying.
By the next summer, the plant sends out several new shoots with tender green leaves.
Then the tree begins to receive a few visitors. A green praying-mantis and a caterpillar
are a few visitors that the tree receives. Rakesh lets the mantis to take refuge in the tree
whereas he dislodges the hairy caterpillar from the tree as it was making meal of the
cherry leaves. Even though, Rakesh is a boy, he does not cause any harm to the insect.
Dropping it on a heap of leaves, Rakesh says to it:
“Come back when you are a butterfly.”
Through Rakesh‟s character, Bond extends his love even for insects also. This episode is
a small instruction even to the young readers of Bond to treat all animals, great or small,
on equal foot.
After the tree is four years old, one-day grandfather finds a pale pink blossom on
the branches of it. Grandfather calls out Rakesh to have a look at it. Both of them glare at
the blossom as if the tree has performed a miracle! More blossoms appear in the tree the
following year. Bees begin to feed on the nectar in the blossoms and birds start breaking
the blossoms. But there are always more blossoms than the birds. Later, small cherry
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fruits begin to appear on the branches. When Rakesh tastes the first cherry fruit, it turns
out to be too sour. Grandfather assures him of better cherry fruits next year. However,
birds, birds of many kinds, feast on those sour cherries only.
The concluding part of the story is significant. It is significant because in a heart
touching conversation between the grandfather and Rakesh, it tells why the tree is
important in their lives. Both Rakesh and the grandfather enjoy the company of the tree
whenever they get an opportunity. They keep the tree close to their heart. They begin to
enjoy the breeze under the shade of the tree during afternoons and sometimes they remain
reluctant to move indoors even after it gets dark. On one such evening, lying under the
tree Rakesh and the grandfather converse so.
“There are so many trees in the forest,” said Rakesh. “What‟s so special about this
tree? Why do we like it so much?”
“We planted it ourselves,” said grandfather. “That‟s why it‟s special.”
“Just one small seed,” said Rakesh, and he touched the smooth bark of the tree
that he had grown. He ran his hand along the trunk of the tree and put his finger to
the tip of a leaf. “I wonder,” he whispered. “Is this what it feels to be God?”
Rakesh who has planted the seed, and who is the prime reason for the cherry tree‟s
growth feels to be a creator. He is so proud that he keeps himself on par with God. The
comparison may be exaggerating but one can understand Rakesh‟s feelings. It is only
because of the immense love that the grandfather and Rakesh have developed for the tree
that makes Rakesh feel so. The story could inspire any child to have love for plants and
trees. It could even compel children to grow trees and plants. The story is special for
these reasons.
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Life that the Trees Have: (When the Trees Walked)
Bond loves trees that are an inseparable part of nature so much that he feels they
do have life like human beings (keeping apart the scientific notions); that they can move
from one place to another. His story „When the Trees Walked‟ is a testimony to Bond‟s
such feelings. The story also stresses the importance of afforestation. Through the
characters of grandfather and himself, Bond brings to fore these two issues.
According to grandfather, trees used to move from one place to another long ago.
But somebody cast a spell on them one day and they got rooted in one place. But, they
would move again. Grandfather gives the example of a banyan tree to prove his point.
The huge tree spreads aerial roots so that it can move from one place to another! Even the
writer believes that plants can move. One morning when sitting with his grandfather, he
sees a tendril slowly moving towards grandfather. In about twenty minutes, the tendril
crosses the threshold and touches the feet of grandfather.
For Bond, there could be some scientific explanation for such a movement of the
tendril. But he likes to assume that the tendril moved on its own to meet the grandfather
who is such a lover of nature, who always nourishes and preserves it.
The grandfather repeatedly stresses the importance of growing trees to young
Bond. He had served many years in the department of Indian Forest Service and he loved
forests and nature immensely. He not only loved growing trees in the compound of his
house, but he would plant saplings and cuttings of different plants and shrubs even in the
nearby jungle. When Bond sees the grandfather doing this for the first time, he protests
saying, no one will notice these plants and why should they plant them there? The reply
given by the grandfather is vital. He says:
26
“See, we are not planting them simply to improve the view. We are planting them
for the forest and for the animals and birds who live here and need more food and
shelter.” He continues, “Of course, men need trees too, to keep the desert away, to
attract rain, to prevent the banks of rivers from being washed away, for fruit and
flowers, leaf and seed. Yes for timber too. But men are cutting down trees without
replacing them and if we don‟t plant a few trees ourselves, a time will come when
the world will be one great desert.” (Dust on the Mountain, p131)
These words of the grandfather need no further explanation as they are self-explanatory.
Each line is a standing instruction to be followed by all if we want to keep this world
green, healthy and happy. The writer recalls a few lines from a poem of George Morris
which speak about the need to protect nature. Even these lines are taught to him by the
grandfather.
Woodman, spare that tree!
Touch not a single bough!
In youth it sheltered me,
And I‟ll protect it now.
Bond, even recalls how his grandfather encouraged growing plants at home in the pretext
of attracting butterflies. He loved butterflies flying around and he always felt that it is
only through growing flowers one would attract them. Hence, he grows more and more
plants for them.
Bond’s Love for Trees:
Bond‟s love for trees in immense and his knowledge about them is matchless. This can be
said even to animals, birds and even to flowers. He has a thorough knowledge about all
27
these parts of nature. This would help any reader, especially, the young readers to
develop more affinity towards all these living beings and also to shower more love for
Bond. The author‟s stories, essays, almost all types present a fair picture of them. Writing
about his love for trees, Bond writes,
In the hills, I have loved forests. In the plains, I have loved single trees. A lone
tree on wide flat plain-even if it is a thin, crooked, nondescript tree- gains beauty
and nobility from its isolation, from the precarious nature of its existence.” (Rain
in the Mountains, p123)
In many of his matchless writings, Bond describes a variety of trees and he explains why
he loves those trees.
“Of course, I have had my favorites among trees. The banyan, with its great
branches spreading to form roots and intricate passageways. The peepal, with its
beautiful heart-shaped leaf catching the breeze and fluttering even on the stillest
days. It is always cool under the peepal. The jacaranda and the gulmohar bursting
into blossom with the coming of summer. The Cherries, peaches and apricots
flowering in the hills; the tall handsome chestnuts and the whispering deodars.”
(Rain in the Mountains, p123)
In one of his essays, titled „Great Trees I Have Known‟ Bond gives the readers a fair
introduction to many trees. He calls these trees great which shows what kind of respect he
has for them. Bond recalls his stay in Garhwal, Himalayas, where he had the opportunity
to come across those trees and know them well.
The first tree that the author introduces is walnut tree. Bond calls this tree „a tree
for all seasons.‟ He compares the tree‟s braches to that of a woman‟s arms in a painting
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by Jamini Roy. The writer has a keen observation how the tree appears in each season
and he appreciates the appearance very much. Looking the beauty of this tree, he has
penned a poem too:
The walnut tree is the first to lose its leaves,
But at the same time the fruit ripens,
The skin splits, the hard shell of the nut
Stands revealed. Yesterday (the last of August)
You climbed among the last few crumpled leaves,
Slim boy in a walnut tree, your toes
Gripping the tender bark, your fingers
Fondling walnuts, while I waited and counted,
And there were twenty-three walnuts on the grass.
We cracked them open with our teeth.
They were still raw but we could not wait:
The walnuts would age and I might grow younger!
Eating those walnuts, Bond feels that he could grow younger. Mere love for the tree
makes him feel so.
One more tree Bond introduces to readers is the horse-chestnut tree. He calls the
tree very friendly, especially in summer when it is full of leaves. To the writer‟s
imagination, it appears as if the leaves of the tree break into conversation even if there is
least breath of wind. The rustle of the leaves is a cheerful sound whereas the same sound
of the leaves of a pine tree appears to Bond very sad. Flowers of a horse-chestnut tree in
spring look like a candelabra, and the same blossoms when fall to ground make a carpet
29
with their pale pink petals. Truly, Bond‟s imagination is poetic! His eyes are that of an
artist! One would wonder, how couldn‟t Bond become a well-known poet?
Bond‟s favorite tree is deodar and he has all praise for the same. The tree has
different names in different places. In Garhwal and Kumaon, it is called dujar or devdar,
in Jaunsar and in parts of Himachal it is known as the Kelu kelon. The tree is often
compared with cedar of Lebanon as the cones are identical. Bond identifies the
importance given by people of India to deodar. The name itself is derived from the
Sanskrit word deva-daru which means a divine tree. It is sacred in the sense, its timber is
used in temples, for doors, windows, walls and even roofs. It is not worshipped like a
peepal tree. But, the writer wishes to worship for the „beauty and majesty it represents
Creation in its most noble aspect.‟
Bond has such a fascination for deodar trees that he has all the details about it.
According to him the deodar forests are found along the upper reaches of the Bhagirathi
valley and the Tons in Garhwal; and in Himachal and Kashmir, along the Chenab and the
Jhelum, and also on the Kishenganga. The tree grows to its best between 7,000 and 9,000
feet. However, Bond does not find a single deodar tree in the upper reaches of the
Alakananda. This valley seems to be hostile to deodar trees or for that matter any trees!
Bond even records the trees‟ physical structure and the uses. One should
definitely go the original work to enjoy it. The encyclopedic knowledge can then only be
appreciated. After deodar, Bond writes of oak trees. He feels that it is a good tree for the
privacy of birds as its crooked braches spread out with no particular effect. Many birds
like long-tailed blue magpies, green pigeons, kokla-birds of Garhwal, white-capped
redstart visit this tree in different seasons.
30
In another piece of writing titled „Growing up with Trees,‟ Bond recalls his
association with trees for many decades. His nostalgic memories take him back to
Dehradoon where he had lived with his grandfather and where several trees like peepal,
neem, mango, jackfruit, banyan and papaya surrounded the house. Bond had a liking for
two kinds of trees; one which was good to climb and the other which provided fruit. As a
jackfruit tree has both the qualities, he liked it much even though he did not prefer to eat
its fruit. He wanted it to be cooked like a vegetable.
Peepal tree has a special place in the writer‟s memory, as it is a good tree for any
tired soul. One can take rest under its immense shade. Bond sees peepal trees in almost
every village in India.
The author cannot forget his association with the banyan tree. The ever spreadingaerial roots, their twisting passageways give an endless pleasure to him. The tree appears
to be older than the house, older than the grandparents are and as old as the town itself.
Bond recalls how he enjoyed many books like Treasure Island, Huck Finn, The Jungle
Book, David Copperfield and English comics sitting on the branches of the tree. Bond is a
witness to the ever-active life of small insects, a few animals and birds in the tree. He
carefully watches how butterflies lay eggs on the delicate leaves of the tree, how the
„honey‟ on the leaves – an edible smear – attracts the little striped squirrels and how these
tiny creatures get accustomed to the presence of himself and even accept peanuts from
him and other activities.
Bond also observes little parakeets in the mornings. He recalls the monsoons
when the banyan is full of scarlet figs, which attract many birds. There are gossipy rosy
pastors, quarrelsome mynas, cheerful bulbuls, coppersmiths, and a raucous crow that
31
make merry of the fruits. If these birds enjoy fruits in the day, at night dark flying Foxes
relish them. There is also a bird that visits not only banyan but also jackfruit tree. The
name of the bird is hawk-cuckoo but it is nicknamed as brainfever bird. It is named so as
its sound seems to be „brainfever, brainfever.‟ Apart from these many birds, there are
insects like cicadas and crickets. These insects in the rainy season make a lot of noise and
it simply sounds like the sound of an orchestra for Bond! With this music, when he tries
to play a flute, the birds and insects maintain a pained and puzzled silence and Bond
knows why!
Another tree, which is favorite for Bond, is the jamun tree. The tree is also known
as Java plum. The author has always enjoyed the purple fruits of the tree. In this account
on trees, Bond not only provides a lot of information on them, but he also introduces
readers with curious details on birds, insects and small animals of the trees. The keen
observation of the writer is always laudable for this reason.
Death of the Trees:
If the story „The Cherry Tree‟ is about the birth and growth of a tree, a piece of
writing titled „Death of the Trees‟ found in the same anthology (Dust on the Mountains:
Collected Stories by Ruskin Bond) rues about the death of certain trees. As it is
mentioned repeatedly throughout the study, modernity has brought with it series of
disasters, this nostalgic piece of writing gives a dreary example of the same.
In „Death of the Trees,‟ Bond recalls a period in his life when several trees were
felled for constructing a road. The new road would be quite close to his cottage and it
would go into the mountains. Those in power and the Public Works Department (PWD)
decide that the new road has to be made and thousands of trees have to be butchered for
32
the purpose. They are very keen on the construction of road and not in the safeguarding
of trees. They don‟t seem to be bothered about planting saplings as substitute for the
felled trees!
As soon as this act of felling trees begins, Bond records them in his journal. He
rues the felling of walnut tree, which is the first to go. Bond has seen it growing over a
period of time and he mourns the untimely departure of this beautiful tree. The growth of
walnut tree is compared to that of the growth of Rakesh, son of his friend Prem. The tree
was there just below his window and Bond knew it better than anyone. He rues its lost.
With walnut tree, Bond also misses the deodar tree. He had helped it grow faster
when its growth was stunted due to lack of sunlight. A few oak trees had covered it with
their branches and Bond had even severed those disturbing branches of oak trees. After
that, the deodar tree had grown faster. But, the PWD did not allow it to survive. It was cut
down in its prime time, youth. Bond compares this sad demise of the deodar to that of his
young brother who was killed in a road accident on his way to Delhi. According to Bond,
both the tree and his brother were the victims of the road; one was killed by the PWD and
the other was killed because of a truck!
Due to this large scale felling of the trees, not only walnut or deodars even a lot
more trees lost their lives. Oaks seem to be the most victims as Bond says that around a
thousand oak trees will be slaughtered in the distance of about six miles. Apart from
these, many maples and pine trees would also be cut. With the disappearance of these
many trees, thousands of birds would also go away from this stretch of forest. Trees are
the homes for these birds and now they lose their homes. Bond feels sorry for many birds
33
with whom he had developed affinity. He will no longer be seeing these birds, which
have given him so much of pleasure.
Henceforth, Bond will miss the sight of scarlet minivets whom he used watch in
the oak tree just below his cottage window. He cannot see the long-tailed magpies and the
ever-calling barbets in the trees. Now all these forest birds will be in search of another
forest stretch where they can have new homes. These many birds will go, but crows will
never go from human localities. They are the only birds who live with or without men.
At the end of the writing, Bond sees in his mind a complete changed picture of the
area. In place of the ever serene and evergreen place, a desert like place would emerge.
Instead of the heavenly music of the birds, one would be able to listen to the loud music
of the motor horns and grinding gears of vehicles. One would even listen to the thunderlike blast sounds that emerge from the destruction of rocks with the use of dynamites.
This change, for Bond would be chaotic!
More than this destruction, Bond feels sorry for the mindset of human beings. He
feels that nobody bothers about this kind of destruction. No one even worries about the
mindless killing of thousands of trees. Surprisingly, for many, trees are obstructions!
Everyone looks at them only from the point of view of profit. People assume that a dead
tree would earn them a lot of money. People see no change in their lives if thousands of
trees are felled. How can people live without trees? This question haunts Bond.
Sometimes, when trees are felled, Bond gets angry. In one of his poems, Bond
writes:
34
“They cut them down last spring
With swift efficient tools,
The sap was rising still.
The trees bled,
Slaughtered
To make furniture for fools. (Rain in the Mountains, p124)
Bond goes to the extent of calling people who use wooden furniture at the cost of
precious trees fools. The words may not be taken literally by any, but one must be able to
understand the anger that the writer has for such a foolish act.
Nature with its furious face:
As it is evident, nature has two faces; one, the calm, serene, lovely and beautiful;
while the other being tempestuous, disastrous, ugly and monstrous. If, probably, the
almighty is responsible for the pretty face of nature, human beings may be said to be
responsible for the ugly face of the nature. Man‟s greed to exploit the natural resources,
his reckless treatment of the natural forces and his thirst for power have led to several
disastrous consequences in the natural environment. There have been floods, tsunamis,
torrential rains, droughts, acid rains and so on and so forth. It is ultimately, man himself
has to bear the brunt of this furious face of nature. Apart from the man-made disasters,
there have been other dangerous elements of nature like twisters, volcanoes, tornados,
earthquakes and others. They seem to be there for ages together and man cannot take
credit for these fatal forces of nature.
In a few stories, Ruskin Bond has tried to shown this violent face of nature.
Stories such as Angry River, Romi and Wildfire, The Night the Roof Blew Off and a few
35
others deal with the unmatchable forces of nature and man‟s helpless situation during
those times. It could be the writer‟s warning to his young readers especially not to take
the elements of nature for granted as they can be wild and untamable. A close study of a
few stories by Bond would help a reader to understand the violent face of nature.
Angry River:
Angry River is a long short story that speaks of the violent nature of river. The very title
aptly conveys the theme of the story. The story is of a little girl called Sita who resides on
a small island in the middle of a river that has no name with her grandparents, three
goats, three hens and a cock. They have grown a vegetable patch to meet their small
requirement. They have built a hut using a big boulder as the fourth wall. There has also
been a peepal tree nearby for many years and which stood firmly in spite of a flood some
years ago.
When the story begins, the grandmother is ill. She is in need of medical care and
the grandfather has a plan to take her to the nearby city Shahganj hoping against hopes
for her survival. He may have to sell his goats to get medical treatment for his wife. Sita
and the grandfather observe dark clouds gathering in the sky hinting at a heavy rain.
When Sita expresses her apprehension about such rain and her fear of getting submerged
in waters, the grandfather suggests her to take refuge in the heights of the hut or even the
peepal tree. He is sure; the water cannot rise higher than the tree. It begins to rain from
that evening itself. It rains throughout the night.
In the morning, the grandfather takes his ailing wife to the hospital and Sita
remains alone on the island. Sita who is never afraid of being alone on the island feels a
bit scared to be alone today as the rain pounded the island throughout the day. Sita begins
36
to notice a small change in the river; it has started to swell. Now she gets afraid of more
rains.
In the past, Sita was never afraid of rain or she never minded getting wet in the
rains. Only last month, when the island received the first monsoon showers, Sita had
enjoyed it by going into open and getting wet. The first showers used to wash the dusty
leaves of the peepal and bring good smell of the earth to Sita and hence, she used to enjoy
them. But today, as the rain is the reason for river‟s swelling, Sita is in panic. She begins
to talk to her close friend doll Mumta so that she would not feel loneliness. She begins to
pray Indra who happens to be the god of rains for the safety of her grandparents and for
her own safety. She prays other gods too in case if Indra is busy!
Remembering the grandfather‟s advice, Sita decides to move to higher places. She
packs all the „valuable‟ things of the hut into a tin trunk. She huddles all the hens onto the
cot of grandmother and climbs the tree hoping for her own safety. She has a belief that
the tree would stand firmly in any kind of rain and flood as floods are not new to the tree.
Even in the past, the tree had stood firmly in the Great Flood. She presumes that the tree
would save her this time too from the flood.
Before climbing onto the tree, Sita had already noticed the river being angry on
people. She saw animals being carried away by the floodwater, she had seen household
things floating in the water and she had even observed people in the far off places moving
to safer places leaving their flooded villages. All these things worried her but she never
lost her heart. She has a great trust in the peepal tree.
As if to break that trust, the tree slowly begins to lose its ground. The currents of
the river this time are very powerful and after standing bravely in those currents for a
37
long time, the tree begins to give away. Now that everything is submerged on the island,
Sita is not afraid of losing her belongings. She has to think of her own safety, that is all.
Without wishing to be a prey to that gobbling river, Sita sits firmly on the mighty
branches of the peepal. A few people in one or two boats have already observed Sita in
that helpless state and they want to save her from the tree, but the currents of the river are
so strong that they are unable to come anywhere close to the tree.
At last, after floating for some time in the river with the tree, Sita gets saved by a
boy named Krishna. He offers her delicious mangoes to eat. The mangoes taste great to
Sita who has been hungry for more than a day. They both rest in the middle of a forest
that night. In the flooded forest, Sita observes that even animals are running for their life.
For her, the whole world appears to be in water. Krishna the savior appears like the god
Krishna himself for Sita. She develops a kind of liking for this savior.
Next morning, Krishna brings Sita to a village shore from where she could go to
Shahganj in search of her grandparents. She insists Krishna to be with her on her journey
to Shahganj, but he refuses as he has other works to do. He gifts Sita his flute from which
he had played melodious notes for Sita the previous evening.
In Shahganj, Sita ultimately finds her grandfather. At first, the grandfather does
not recognize Sita, because she is such a terrible disheveled condition. Sita comes to
know that she has lost her grandmother. She wants to cry but she fights back her tears for
her grandfather who has lost his companion of life. She does not wish to bring any sense
of loneliness in her beloved grandfather. They both return to the island where the river is
no longer in spate and the water level has come down. Life has to be new for both of
them in the absence of their beloved person.
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At the end of the story, Sita meets Krishna again. His arrival on the island brings a
sense of hope if not among Sita and her grandfather, sure among readers. The story ends
there.
Commentary: Angry River graphically sketches human helplessness condition
in testing times. How a force of nature like rain can wreck havoc in the lives of millions
is dealt with in the story through a simple example of Sita and her grandparents. Rains
can be mild and they can also be torrential, a river can also be calm but it can also be
disastrous.
Writing about the river‟s anger Bond writes, “the river was very angry, it was like
a wild beast, a dragon on the rampage, thundering down from the hills and sweeping
across the plain, bringing with it dead animals, uprooted trees, household goods, and
huge fish choked to death by the swirling mud.”
The story tries to show these two faces of the rain and of the river to its readers.
How a life giving force can turn to be a life taking force? is narrated beautifully by
Ruskin Bond. Through the marvelous narration, Bond also tries to say that life is more
important to anyone. Our life may go in the middle of several of disasters, we may lose or
we may gain in our lives, but whatever may be the case, we cannot give up hopes and we
need to live against all odds. The writer clearly gives this message to his readers.
In the story, when Sita gets rescued by the unknown Krishna, and when they
introduce themselves to each other, Sita asks him where is he from. While answering her
question, Krishna says that he too is from a flooded land and continuing he says, “We
cannot fight the river, we must go wherever it takes us.” (Angry River, p 59). In India and
elsewhere, rivers are always the lifeblood of people and hence, they cannot live without
39
them. Krishna tries to convey this fact to Sita. Even though, the river wrecks havoc in the
life of Sita‟s family, they cannot forgo the river and go elsewhere. They come back to it
and begin the life afresh having no qualms with the river or its destructive power.
Because they know, the chances of it taking lives are rare and life giving is more.
Lakhs of people live on the shores of rivers and seas across the world. They do
encounter many problems while living in such places. Floods, tsunamis and tidal waves
perish life of people many a times. But, one cannot forsake these water bodies and move
away from them by being angry with them. People depend on them for their livelihood
and not, rivers or seas on human beings.
This compulsive situation is explained at the end of the story brilliantly by the
author, “Sometimes the river is angry, and sometimes it is kind,” said Sita.
“We are part of the river,” said the boy (Krishna). “We cannot live without it.”
(Angry River, p 87)
River is an inseparable part of anyone‟s life. It sustains people‟s life like a mother.
Hence, rivers have always acquired the status of divine beings in the Indian culture and
tradition. In the modern era, most of the times, rivers get angry with human beings most
of the times due to his reckless attitude towards them. The story can be a lesson to human
beings not to treat natural resources recklessly as these forces can have the devastating
face too!
Romi and Wild Fire:
One more story that deals with the disastrous face of nature is Romi and Wild
Fire. Even fire is considered divine in the Indian tradition. It is one of the five forces,
panchabhutas in the Indian culture. In holy fires yagnas it has been a practice to offer
40
prayers to the fire god, Agni. Indian epics and puranas are abundant with stories of Agni.
Even in those tales, Agni has been considered both a preserver and a destroyer.
Fire is an integral part of human life. There is no life without fire. The fire is
always dangerous in any form. It is man who has always controlled it and got benefits
from it. He has been using it for his wellbeing. This fire has destroyed innumerable lives,
lives of animals, plants and human beings as well since ages. End has come to these
beings for no fault of themselves many a times and sometimes due to the mistakes of
human beings.
The story „Romi and wildfire’ graphically explains how fire can be disastrous for
the forest dwellers. Curiously, here there are not many human characters involved. There
are only three human characters; Romi, a young high school going boy; Teju, a vendor of
milk; and Prem, Romi‟s friend and classmate. However, Prem does not play an active
role in the story. He appears only at the beginning of the story, but then, never appears
again. Apart from these human characters, one comes across names of many animals and
birds, even though one cannot call them strictly characters of the story. They can be
termed only as a vital part of the story.
The story is simple in narration. Romi, the protagonist of the story, has come to a
neighboring village to get pills for his father who is suffering from backache. The pills
are made from herbs from the village vaid (doctor). Between the two villages lies a
forest, which stretches for about seven miles. At the beginning of the story, Romi is
taking leave off his friend and classmate Prem. At that time, Prem notices smoke
emanating from the distant patch of the forest. He suggests Romi to stay that night at his
home, as there is a forest fire. Romi refuses the offer, as he has to deliver the pills to his
41
ailing father. The father, a fairly rich sugarcane grower, has recently bought Romi a
bicycle and Romi considers his duty to offer this little service for his beloved father. So
he wishes to ride on his bicycle to his village which would take about forty minutes.
Saying goodbye to Prem, Romi starts pedaling back to village.
On his way back home through the forest road, Romi sees many wild animals
running for their life. Even many birds, having lost their homes in the destructive fire, are
flying rapidly for their safety. The forest fire has started spreading very fast as it was the
summer month of May and the trees and foliage are dry being suitable for the raging fire.
Sensing the impending danger, Romi starts to pedal hard.
After a while, Romi observes a boy by name Teju, who is from a neighboring
village carrying a pair of milk cans on his way home. Due to the forest fire, he is unable
to vend his milk and hence going back home with cans full of milk. Romi wishes to carry
Teju along with him and hence asks him to get on to the crossbar of the cycle. Once, they
start moving they observe that fire has begun to spread fast and in some time it would
cross this road and move to the forest patch lying next to this road. But, Romi is hopeful
that the fire would not be able to cross the road to endanger more lives and the forest
itself.
Romi and Teju come across more animals now. Before Romi took Teju with him,
Romi had seen several animals. He had observed a hare leaping across the road in front
of him as the first animal trying to escape the fire. Then there was a band of noisy
monkeys. Romi had even seen many Pheasants flying low in front of him in a bid to
escape. Poor Romi had even fallen down from his bicycle then. There were many more
birds and animals on the run. The fire had disturbed their peaceful stay. There were
42
parrots, magpies, jungle crows and owls streaming across the road and the air was filled
with their cries. Then there was a herd of deer, Romi had to wait before he mounted on
his bicycle. Romi wanted to give space to the denizens of the forest first.
After Teju meets Romi, they see lesser number of animals. Teju himself has seen
a huge python in the middle of the road. Together, they see a baby elephant that is
restless as it has departed from its group. But, then it listens to the trumpet call of its
leader and moves very fast towards him. Scared of the animal, Teju falls from the
crossbar along with his milk cans. In a bid to escape the wild fire, they start again
forgetting the cans! They even see a jackal lying on the ground dead or unconscious.
However, after heavy pedaling for some more time, Romi and Teju manage to
come near the bridge, which they needed to cross to get to reach their respective villages.
But, to their dismay they find the bridge on fire. Teju panics but Romi knows that the
water is shallow as it is the month of summer. He encourages Teju to walk in the water to
get to the other end. With the cycle, both of them manage to cross the waters. They even
see elephants, deer among other animals in the water who are trying to cool themselves
from the forest fire. The narration ends there.
Through its simple narration, the story „Romi and Wildfire’ depicts the
devastating effects of fire. Forest fire is though natural, is sometimes man-made in the
modern era. Nevertheless, the effect is disastrous. It leaves hundreds of animals and birds
homeless and be a reason for their death too. Many precious trees burn in the forest
which is a huge loss to any civil society. Losing a small patch of forest area is an
irreparable damage. Hence, one must be very careful not to cause any fire in forest. Even
if the fire is natural, it leads to heavy loss of flora and fauna. Ruskin Bond through this
43
story aptly introduces his readers the devastating effects of forest fire. The details and the
narration are matchless. They succeed in educating readers about forest fire by allowing
them to visualize the whole episode. Bond remains one of the best writers for this reason!
Another story where there is a mention of the forest fire is „A Long Walk for
Bina.‟ Unlike „Romi and Forest Fire,‟ here in „A Long Walk for Bina’, the mention about
forest fire is limited. Bond has given a little space for this destructive element of the
nature. The author gives a very brief description of the forest fire. He writes,
“In early June the hills were dry and dusty, and forest fires broke out, destroying
shrubs and trees, killing birds and small animals. The resin in the pines made
these trees burn more fiercely, and the wind would take sparks from the trees and
carry them into the dry grass and leaves, so that new fires would spring up before
the old ones had died out.”
This little explanation would educate an average reader about the devastating effects of
any forest fire.
The Night the Roof Blew Off:
If the story, „Angry River‟ speaks of the powerful waters, if „Romi and Forest
Fire’ deals with the untamable force of fire, „The Night the Roof Blew Off’ introduces its
readers the uncontrollable might of wind. It is already mentioned that the air, water and
fire are considered very pious and divine in the Indian society. They have a mild and
soothing face normally. However, they do have the other face, which comes to
foreground only occasionally. Through these three stories, Bond may have wished to
write a kind of trilogy, introducing readers of the other face of these strong divine forces.
Explaining subtly about the forces of nature, Bond renders one fact clearly that human
44
beings are always helpless before these agencies of nature. Man may wish to control
these forces, but when they decide, they can leave man the most weak of all living
creatures. Such is their power!
The narration of the story „The Night the Roof Blew Off’ is very simple. Like most
of the stories, this story is also a part of Bond‟s living experience. It narrates the author‟s
harrowing experience one night when they suddenly have to face the wrath of the nature
in the forms of a heavy storm and cloudburst. Bond lives with family in Mussoorie on the
first floor of a building and the roof is made of corrugated tin sheets and ceiling of
wooden boards. This has been a traditional roof of any house in the city. According to
Bond, this roof has withstood many a storms in the past. Nevertheless, the storm of that
particular night is very fierce. It appeared as if it unleashed all its power to trouble the
author.
On that fateful night, the roof comes off easily as the storm is very strong. Even
the roof is more than hundred years old and the roof too has grown bit weak. Waters
begin to pour heavily right into different parts of the house. Kitchen remains the only
place where rainwater can not enter. Other rooms get soaked with water soon. As the
wind and rain are strong, power supply plays hide and seek there. The lights in the house
keep coming and going. At last, they go altogether as some water spills over a damaged
wire and there is a short circuit. In between, Bond is assisted by his two grandchildren
Dolly and Mukesh to shift his precious books, papers and other writing materials. Bond
first, saves his most trusted typewriter from the water.
Through out the night, there is strong wind and rain. Sleep remains elusive to all
the members of the house. All the family members spend their night in such a distressed
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condition. There is no respite from rain or storm. When they subside, it is already
morning. In the day, they get the roof repaired and prepare for any rain or storm
confidently, that is what Bond says in jest at the end of the story!
As it is already mentioned, man may boast of being all-powerful, but,
ultimately, when there is war between man and nature, it is the nature that has smile on
its face. With whatever science and technology man has, he cannot compete with nature.
If he succeeds in taming the forces of nature, it is only temporary. One or the other day,
he has to submit before those forces and he has to repent for his illogical actions.
Love for Animals:
When studying Ruskin Bond‟s relationship with nature, one cannot ignore his love
for animals who share an inseparable bond with the natural world. Man, who is a
minority in the world of „animals‟ has been persecuting animals more than expressing
love and showing care towards them being a supreme creature among them all. He has
trespassed into their domain rendering them homeless. He has been ill treating them in
the name of entertainment. He has been butchering them mercilessly just to feed his
hunger. These days one can learn about conflicts between man and animals, one can see
animals entering into human zone as there is shortage of space for them, one can read
about the dwindling number of so many species of animals, unfortunately many have
perished from the face of the earth feeding the insatiable greed of man. There are a few
helping hands to rescue the meek and dumb animals; there are a few eyes who shed tears
for the sad state of helpless creatures!
Literature of the world has always provided space to the wonderful world of animals.
Animal characters in the literature have been a phenomenon of time immemorial. The
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great epics of India Ramayana and Mahabharatha have provided abundant space for
animals. One of the great characters of Ramayana is Hanumantha who is a monkey God,
Jambhavantha, one of his aides is a bear, Jataayu is an eagle, this epic gives scope for a
lot more animals and birds. Maneka Gandhi, a well-known politician and animal activist
has explained the role of animals in Ramayana in one of her essays. Similarly, Crouncha
birds are important characters of Mahabharatha.
Panchatantra, a classic of India of 5th century BC by Vishnusharma is full of
animal characters. The great author has provided more space for animals than for human
beings in it. The stories of Pachatantra are didactic in nature. Through animals, the tales
try to teach the moral lessons of life to human beings. Similarly, there have been many
other books for children in India, which are filled with animal characters.
Ruskin Bond, as a writer, appears to have been fascinated by the wonderful world
of animals. In many of his writings one can trace animals having been assigned vital
roles. His knowledge of animals is spell bounding and his observation of animals is
matchless. The stories where animal characters are abundant appear to be his live
encounters with them. The description is so natural!
Ruskin Bond brings in a number of animals in his writings. If a few are common
companions of men, a few more are rare friends of human beings. Still Bond has enough
space for them. His animals range from an ordinary crow to an unusual friend of man like
cassowary bird. One can find mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, etc., beasts from all
sections of animal kingdom. There are snakes and mongooses, tigers and leopards, crows
and owlets, pythons and cobras, monkeys and mynas, and scores of other animals whose
antics have filled the Ruskin Bond‟s world of storytelling.
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Ruskin Bond‟s observation of the animal kingdom is evident in many of his
descriptions about them. Even in animal society, there are fights and there are
harmonious relationships. If there is camaraderie, there also exists hatred among certain
animals. Fights among animals are a topic, which always gathers the interest of an artist,
whether one is a painter, a filmmaker or even a storyteller. Such works of art have even
enthralled the spectators and readers for many centuries. Keeping aside the agony and
trauma experienced by those animals on such encounters, these people have enjoyed and
even have expressed their surprise for those fantastic battles. Even Ruskin Bond has tried
to bring such tales of fights between a few animals in some of his writings. The Book of
Nature of the author has tried to document a few of such fights. In one of the episodes of
the book titled, „Garden Adventures’ Bond vividly pictures the fight between a cobra and
a mongoose. He calls it „battle of champions,‟ as they are considered traditionally
enemies.
The „battle‟ takes place when one day the narrator is resting on a platform made
in a banyan tree. As he observes from the top on a sunny afternoon, a black cobra
emerges out of a cacti thicket and moves towards a shady patch. At the same time, a grey
mongoose coming out of bushes heads straight to the cobra. Both the animals involve in a
terrific combat where, at the end, the mongoose emerges as an unquestionable victor.
The fighting would have been an ordinary one had Ruskin Bond explained it like
any ordinary writer. But, he chooses not to do so. To add more beauty to this deadly
combat, he brings in two more characters, two birds; one, a myna and the other a jungle
crow. These two birds, out of curiosity, try to be spectators for this battle between the
„royals‟. But, Bond does not curtail their role as only mute spectators. He assigns them
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more roles. Hence, they succeed in arousing the interest of a reader. Bond uses these lines
to keep the interest of a reader.
“Had they been content only to watch, all would have been well with both of
them.”
As the fight begins, the two birds take their places on a cacti bush. They are
somehow not happy with the cobra and they too want to attack him for reasons best
known to them. Once, the fight resumes, the cobra tries to attack the mongoose with his
fatal fangs. The wily mongoose escapes from the fangs but succeeds in biting the cobra
on his back. As the birds watch this attack, they too try to attack the cobra. With this
intension, they dart at the cobra but collide mid-air and go back to their places.
The second round of fight replicates the first. The cobra attacks the mongoose
unsuccessfully, the mongoose succeeds in his attack, and the birds again swoop at cobra
but bump into other and return to safety.
However, the third round of attack takes a dramatic turn! The myna and the crow,
which want to attack cobra, miss again their mark and try to fly back to their perch. Myna
succeeds in its attempt, but the crow, which tries to take a u-turn flies towards cacti bush,
but gets attacked by the cobra. The already injured cobra in its desperation sinks its fangs
into the body of the crow with the thud, and lo! the crow got flung nearly twenty feet
across the garden and after fluttering for a while falls dead. The myna later remains
cautious throughout the next proceedings in which the mongoose wins over the cobra
leaving it lifeless.
More than the fight between the mongoose and the cobra, it is the involvement of
the two birds makes this piece of writing a refreshing one. It is difficult to say whether
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the whole description is a product of the writer‟s imagination or it is a real experience of
the author. Whatever may be the case, one should congratulate the writer for such a
matchless narration. If it is a piece of imagination, Bond deserves appreciation for that
wonderful imagination, and if it is a writing born out of a real life experience, the writer
should be appreciated for the meticulous documentation of a picturesque event. But, the
matchless narration is something one would not often find in traditional narratives.
One more curious episode that draws readers‟ attention and appreciation in the
„Book of Nature‟ is the one that involves a baby elephant and a cassowary bird. An act of
revenge is explained in this part, which is rare to find in most of the stories. Even if it
takes place, it goes unnoticed from our eyes. More over the bird cassowary is not found
in India. Hence, it is improbable to find such narratives.
It is difficult for a reader to enjoy a narrative if the explanation is too monotonous
and not lively. Story telling is an art, which requires great expertise. Bond who masters
these skills succeeds in grabbing the attention of the reader. As the cassowary bird is
unknown to many readers, he first introduces it to them so that they could visualize it.
Bond explains;
“It (Cassowary) looked like a cross between a turkey and an ostrich, but bigger
than the former and smaller than the latter – about five feet in height. It was not a
beautiful bird, nor even a friendly one. . .”
Once, such a cassowary bird had an unusual friend; a baby elephant. The friendly
baby elephant had begun to show a great interest in the cassowary bird from the
beginning. He used to circle around the bird out of curiosity and he would examine the
texture of its wings with his trunks without ever suspecting any evil. To such friendly
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advances, the bird never reciprocated. However, one day it responded by raising one of
its powerful legs looking innocently into space. Fortunately, the grandfather and the
narrator rescued the baby elephant as they knew what the gesture meant; a powerful
blow! But, the baby elephant without suspecting the bird of any such evil designs
continued its friendly overtures, and one day it got its worst gift, a heavy blow. Squealing
feebly, the elephant ran to the grandfather that day.
After this painful experience, the sullen elephant tried to avoid the bird for a few
days. A week later again he returned to the cassowary bird as if he had forgotten his
painful experience and continued his child-like pranks. Once again the bird raised its
huge leg slowly with the same „sinister determination.‟ But, the baby elephant which had
determined to take revenge this time suddenly pulled the other leg of the bird with its
trunk and brought it down to ground with a thud. The shocked bird then got up and
moved off as if unconcerned with this tit-for-tat. It tried to keep up its majestic aura but it
had obviously learnt its lesson and then onwards, it tried to give as much space to the
baby elephant as possible! How is it possible that a reader would not be left amused by
this little episode of revenge?
Bond’s Tryst with Tigers:
Bond is an ardent lover of animals. Even though he loves each and every animal
of the nature, it seems, Bond has a special privileged place for Tigers. Tigers, we know
are the national animals of India and they have never failed to attract the attention of
artists and writers. Lions are in fact the kings of jungles, but somehow they do not appear
much in Bond‟s writings. Tigers, because of their beauty and majesty, have even attracted
the attention of poachers and hunters and therefore are being killed for their precious skin
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and claws. This predator is therefore on the list of endangered animals. Showing his love
for the beautiful beast and his concern for the endangered animal, Bond writes in one of
his poems titled „May There Always Be Tigers‟,
May there always be tigers,
In the jungles and tall grass,
May the tiger‟s roar be heard,
May his thunder
Be known in the land.
At the forest pool, by moonlight
May he drink and raise his head
Scenting the night wind.
May he crouch low in the grass
When the herdsmen pass,
And slumber in dark caverns
When the sun is high.
May there always be tigers.
But not so many, that one of them
Might be tempted to come into my room
In search of a meal!
The poem, even though, written in a jest mood, clearly expresses Bond‟s apprehension
for the dwindling predator. Bond wishes that may there always be tigers in jungles but
not in towns!
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In the introduction to his edited book , „When the Tiger Was the King‟ Bond
recalls an episode where he was asked by a boy of ten that “How can there be an India
without tigers?” Bond confesses that he did not have any answer for the boy‟s question
then. May be, taking cue from the same question, Bond raises the same question in his
story „Tiger My Friend,‟ Even there, at the end of the story, a boy called Chottu asks the
same question to his brother Nandu, “Can there be an India without tigers?”
Bond rues the time when we would not be able to show our children tigers in the
wild and when they probably would vanish from the face of the earth! According to
Bond, in future comparisons of the past like, Tippu Sultan, the tiger of Mysore; Ranjit
Singh, the lion of Punjab; Subhas Chandra Bose, the „sponging tiger‟ of Bengal are not
possible if those big cats are only found in zoos instead of in forests.
Bond‟s love for tigers is evident from the stories that he has written on the aweinspiring beautiful beast. Among many, stories like „Tiger My Friend,‟ „Tiger in the
Tunnel,‟ „When Grandfather Tickled a Tiger’ and „Trapped by a Tiger’ stand apart due to
their wonderful and witty narration. These stories throw light on the different conditions
the animal has been living in the present day human world. The stories introduce their
readers, different problems of tigers, their encounters with the human world, trespassing
of their territory by human beings there by rendering them homeless, the animals‟ fate of
laundering in zoos so that they be animals of entertainment for human beings etc. It is
unfortunate that such majestic beasts are only „games‟ for the cruel human beings.
Unmindful of their gradual disappearance from the very face of the earth, the evil man
has been hunting the tigers for fun and for the sake of money, which is an unpardonable
crime. Bond‟s many stories on tigers deal with his love and apprehension about the tiger.
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“Tiger My Friend” is a long short story where Bond narrates the life story of a
tiger, which is middle aged, single, and bereft of a decent living place. Due to
urbanization and deforestation, this tiger has only a limited space in a small jungle, which
is also visited by nearby local people. There is a pond in the jungle and it is the only
source of drinking water to animals of the forest. Even animals of the village visit this to
drink water. Hence, the tiger uses the pond very cautiously so that it never gets caught in
the trap of cruel humans. Even though it is aware of the visits of the village boys and
animals, it never intends to harm them, as it wants to live amicably with them. But, the
same understanding and bond between the duo does not last long. There comes a time
when this harmony between the tiger and the rest gets broken. Ultimately, the sufferer is
only the tiger and not the others!
Explaining about the problem of space for animals, Bond writes at the beginning
of the story,
“On the left bank of the river Ganges, where it flows out from the Himalayan
foothills, is a long stretch of heavy forest. There are villages on the fringe of the
forest, inhabited by farmers and herdsmen. Big-game hunters came to the area for
many years, and as a result the animals had been getting fewer. The trees, too, had
been disappearing slowly; and as the animals lost their food and shelter, they
moved further into the foothills.”
The forest of the story, which was once inhabited by around forty tigers, is now left with
only one. The hunters would have killed this too, but this is an old tiger, which is wise
and crafty. He knew the ways of men and survived all attempts of men to kill it. Even the
boy Chottu helps him once to get away from men!
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Once, three hunters come to the village seeking help from the villagers to prepare
a manchan, a tree platform for them in the jungle so that they hunt the tiger from atop a
tree. These hunters have money and they just want to kill the big beast for no reason and
just for fun! The poor villagers readily agree to meet the demands of the hunters. Nandu,
a cousin of Chottu is asked to tie a goat at the foot of a tree. The hunters want the goat to
act as a bait. But, Chottu does not wish the tiger to die. He wants to warn the tiger of the
impending threat to his life. So, he ties small pieces of old clothes on small trees and
bushes around the area. He knows that a tiger would never visit the place where human
clothes are found, because there will always be a chance that humans are there with those
clothes. May be sensing Chottus‟s warning, the wise tiger does not come near the tree
that night and saves its life. Chottu‟s wish of saving the tiger gets materialized in this
way.
However, a forest fire changes the prospects of the tiger‟s life. Once on a summer
noon some city-dwellers, camping near the forest, start a forest fire carelessly. The fire
changes the whole surroundings and it makes the other animals to run away from the
forest to some distant places, to other forests. But, this tiger who always suspects other
forests, remains in the same jungle sans any prey! For four days, he remains hungry and
this hunger alters his hunting habits and thereby bringing him face to face with the
villagers.
On the fifth day, the tiger hunts a buffalo that comes to the marsh to quench its
thirst. The buffalo belongs to Nandu‟s father and knowing very well that the villagers
would be angry if it hunts their animal, the tiger hunts it for he has no other way. The
hunger has made him helpless.
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As expected the loser of the buffalo, Nandu‟s father Kundan Singh gets angry. He
along with Chottu‟s father decides to hunt the animal for they fear, the tiger would start
hunting even the rest of the domestic animals. They do need those animals for their
survival and none is ready to lose them. Hence, Kundan Singh assisted by Chottu‟s father
and other village folks walks into the jungle carrying a double barraelled gun with an
intention of putting the life of the tiger to an end. At night only Kundan Singh and
Chottu‟s father remain at the tree platform waiting for the tiger.
As expected, the tiger returns to its kill after a few hours. Nandu, who is there to
hunt the tiger, looking at it, gets mesmerized by the very size of the tiger and forgets his
very intention. It is only after a nudge by Chottu‟s father that he comes back to his
senses. Taking a good aim at the tiger, he shoots at it with his double-barreled gun. But,
the bullets do not hit tiger and the angry tiger, having made an in vain effort to attach the
duo rushes back to forest.
After this incident, the tiger remains inactive for a few days. Even villagers
assume that the tiger has moved to a different place. But, one day, the tiger attacks and
kills another buffalo which makes the villagers angry again. This time, Kundan Singh
determines to hunt the beast without fail. He asks some people to beat the jungle so that
the tiger would rush towards a bridge where he would wait and shoot it. He thinks that
the tiger would not escape this time unless it dives into and swims in the river at the
bridge. For him, this is a rare option. Only the little boy Chottu again feels sorry for the
tiger.
Around twenty men enter the jungle making great din which disturbs the tiger.
Getting angry, it begins to move deep into the jungle. But the men follow it wherever it
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goes. The tiger, which would have easily broken the semi-circled human chain, does not
like the noise and just keeps moving into the jungle. The writer at this point deliberates
on the quality of tiger. He writes,
“The tiger could easily have broken through this slowly advancing semi-circle of
men – one swift blow from his paw would have felled the strongest of them – but
his main object was to get away from the noise. He hated and feared the noise
made by humans. He was not a man-eater and he would not attack a man unless
he was very angry or very frightened and as yet he was neither.”
Even when twenty men chase him, the tiger is not perturbed by their sight or number. He
keeps himself cool and calm. He moves deep into the forest only because he hates the
noise. Such is the trait of a majestic tiger. At last, the men succeed in driving the tiger
near the bridge where Kundan Singh along with a few people is waiting with his gun.
Once he fires and misses his aim. Then the tiger, having no other option, tries to escape
into the hills by walking over the suspension bridge. Kundan Singh fires again and the
bullet grazes the tiger‟s shoulder. In the melee, when tiger walks on the bridge, it sways
and trembles. Losing its foot on the bridge, the tiger falls headlong into the swirling
waters of the river. He gets carried very far by the strong currents of the river.
At first, the villagers become happy as the dangerous tiger can no longer be found
in the jungle. But, soon they begin to miss him. They feel that some vital thing has gone
out of their lives. The tiger was a sort of protector for them and their jungle but now
without their protector, there would not be enough forest. People would convert the
jungle into nothing. The two boys, Nandu and Chottu converse like this,
“The king of the jungle is dead,” said Nandu, “There are no more tigers.”
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“There have to be tigers,” said Chottu. “Can there be an India without tigers?”
Bond‟s love for the animal is evident in this conversation. Even at the end of the story,
Bond does not leave the tiger dead. After being carried away several miles by the waters,
the tiger wakes up on a sandy region. In the fresh air, it smells of a tigress, which reminds
him of his youth. With new energy, he roars and his call gets reciprocated. The tiger gets
a companion after many years!
That night, back in the village, Chottu, who had always developed a kind of
affinity for the tiger, listens to the sound of tigers roaring to each other. He even
recognizes the roar of his own tiger. From the vigor of its roar, Chottu comes to know
that the beast is still alive and safe; gladly, he whispers into the darkness, “Let there be
tigers forever.” Bond closes the story with this optimistic thought.
If „Tiger My Friend’ narrates the tale of a tiger which is not harmful, which is shy
of men and which does not wish to come in contact with human beings, his another story
„Tiger in the Tunnel’ speaks of an altogether tiger; a man eater. How cruel and merciless
if a tiger be a man-eater is depicted in the story.
The story is of Baldeo, a watchman at a tunnel in the middle of a forest and
Tembu his son. Even though there is a mention of other members of the family, not much
has been written about them.
Baldeo‟s job is to signal the trains, which arrive there whether or not there is
obstruction in the tunnel. He has a hand-worked signal for that purpose. At night, his duty
is to see that a lamp is burning and that a train Overland Mail passes the tunnel safely.
Baldeo is only new to the place as he has been deputed there only a month ago. As the
namesake station is situated in the middle of a thick forest, there has always been chances
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that he would encounter beasts of prey. There is also a rumour about a man-eating tiger.
But, Baldeo in his brief span at the station, has never encountered any cruel animal.
Hence, he is not afraid of the tiger as such.
One night carrying his hand axe, a sharp handy weapon, Baldeo sets out on his
duty. Baldeo reaches the station, he puts on the oil lamp and waits for the train. Due to
sleep, he begins to doze. But in a few minutes his sleep gets disturbed by the low
grunting noise and the noise of a barking deer. Baldeo clearly identifies the sound of the
tiger. He worries only a bit as he is not sure whether the tiger is approaching him or
moving towards the opposite direction towards his hut where his son and other members
of family sleeping unprotected. He grasps his hand axe firmly. In a few seconds he comes
face to face with the tiger. Flight at that time is useless as it would only benefit the brute.
Fearlessly, Baldeo gets ready to fight the huge monster.
The tiger, which has been hunting human being for years, now gets ready to
attack Baldeo and he leaps on him. Baldeo who avoids the paw, swings the axe on the
animal. The axe hits the tiger on its shoulder and unfortunately, gets stuck in the bone.
Baldeo remains weaponless now. Roaring with pain and anger, the tiger easily springs
upon Baldeo bringing him down. Life comes to an end for Baldeo in a few minutes.
The tiger sitting before its prey starts licking its wounded leg. In the process, it
does not mark the approach of the train and when it does, it is already late. The tiger then
tries to run into the tunnel but the speedy train mauls the animal. The driver comes to
know about this „accident‟ only at the next station. Everyone gets happy as the fatal maneater is dead now. But, the family members of Baldeo, Tembu, his sister and mother
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plunge in grief for two days. As life has to move on, from the third night, Tembu
commences his duty as the watchman for Overland Mail express. The story ends there.
In this story, Bond has written about the cruelty and the might of the animal. If a
tiger becomes a man-eater, due to rare circumstances, only man has to be blamed and not
the animal. A tiger, probably would never be man eater unless it finds it hard to find any
food in jungle.
Bond’s different treatment for the Animal: Ruskin Bond‟s treatment of two
different themes narrated in these two different stories of tiger is quite interesting. The
tiger in the „Tiger My Friend’ is harmless, it is not man-eater and if it hunts domestic
animals twice it is only for its survival. In spite of several human attempts to kill it, it is
not killed. The writer does not want it to die. He saves it repeatedly, first from the
hunters, then twice from Kundan Singh‟s bullets and lastly from the torrential river. He
even finds a mate for the love-lorn animal. The animal does have a sympathizer in the
form of Chottu who always has sympathetic feelings for the brute. Chottu once makes an
honest attempt to save it from hunters and on two other occasions, though he does not
make such an attempt as it is not possible for him, he still wishes the tiger to be alive
somehow. Even his wish gets fulfilled.
On the other hand, the tiger in the story „Tiger in the Tunnel’ is not „good,‟ it is
harmful and dangerous. It is indeed a man-eater. For such a tiger, Bond does not have any
sympathy. He allows it to die at the end of the story. The animal dies but only after
killing a human being, the station guard Baldeo. Again it is curious to know that Baldeo,
an ordinary human being, is not a match in any sort for a huge monstrous tiger, before
dying, he attacks the animal using all his might with his hand axe. Even though, he does
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not kill the man-eater instantly, he wounds it and the speeding train plays its role in
leaving the animal dead! People in the vicinity become very happy, when they come to
know about the death of the animal. It was a man-eater and they have a reason to
celebrate its death.
But, there is no such celebration by people in the story „Tiger My Friend.‟ The
villagers who lose two cattle at the beginning do not wish the tiger to be alive any more.
They are afraid that their cattle are not safe and they want the tiger to be dead. But, when
they succeed in driving away the tiger from the forest assuming it to be dead, they begin
to feel sorry for the king of the jungle and for themselves. They feel that they have lost
the protector of the jungle. On the other hand, in the story, ‘Tiger in the Tunnel,‟ when
the tiger dies at the end, everyone rejoices the death of the cruel beast. They do not feel
sorry for the animal as it was a threat to their lives. Bond appears to have given
importance to the quality of the animal more in his treatment. If the animal is harmless, it
should live and if the animal is dangerous, let it die! Even though, this treatment appears
a matter of injustice, in reality one would accept the fact. No one would like a man-eater,
if it is dangerous, to be alive and create panic among people.
If the above mentioned two stories „Tiger My Friend’ and „Tiger in the Tunnel’
present two serious themes on tigers, there is one more story where the whole theme
appears to be written in jest. The title of the story is „When Grandfather Tickled a Tiger.‟
The tiger, Timothy, was found by the narrator‟s grandfather when he was on a hunting
expedition. The grandfather rears the tiger as a pet for some time and then when it grows
to six months old, it is given as a gift to a nearby zoo.
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After six months, grandfather visits the zoo again to see his pet Timothy. He goes
near the cage, speaks to it and fondles it. Even the tiger licks his hands. The whole thing
appears to be a thing of entertainment for the onlookers. Then a zookeeper comes and
cautions the grandfather that the tiger he is playing with is not his but a different one. His
Timothy died two months ago due to pneumonia and this is a dangerous beast. Listening
to these words of caution, the grandfather takes away his hand away from the tiger and
moves from the place in a hurried manner. The story is definitely an entertaining one. It
does not stop a reader from amusing!
While reading Bond‟s stories about the majestic tiger, one would never fail to
recall William Blake‟s poem ‘Tiger’
Tiger Tiger Burning Bright
In the forests of the night
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry!
The poem continues speaking about the grandeur the tiger has, and lingers in one‟s mind
for long. In the same fashion, stories on tigers have always enthralled readers. May many
more stories flow from the pen of Ruskin Bond educating and entertaining readers with
more information on the tigers! Let them linger in the minds of readers perennially.
Trapped by a Tiger:
One more story about tiger and its horrific present is „Trapped by a Tiger.’ The story is
about Bond‟s scary experience in the jungle near Dehradoon. At the age of twelve, he
went to the forest with his uncle Jim on a hunting expedition. Even though, the boy was
not interested to go, the uncle forced him go with him. The uncle and his team rented a
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forest rest house from where they used to set out for hunting in the morning. Bond
preferred staying back in the rest house till they returned and he had books as his
company. Only a guard was there to take care of little boy.
Reading a book Bond dozed off for a while and after some fifteen minutes he
woke up and smelt some animal in the vicinity. He needed not to search for the animal as
some forty meters away there stood a huge, monstrous tiger looking straight at the boy.
Bond got into the house and bolted it. However, he was worried as he had a doubt
whether the bathroom door was shut. When he checked, it was closed. However, the boy
did not want to take any chance, as the house had many large and weak windows. In the
meanwhile, the tiger was circling the house with an intention to get into it.
Much-scared Bond then thought that he would be safe on the roof. He could go
there through a small skylight that was in a living room. Piling up tables and a chair Bond
managed to reach the roof. At the same time, the tiger entered the house by breaking the
front door. When it saw the boy on the roof, it got angry. As it knew it could not climb up
to the roof, it got angry and let out a roar. The birds in the nearby trees flew because of
the sound. Then to Bond‟s relief, the forest guard came out of the hutment listening to the
sound and first shot in the air to scare the animal. Listening to the sound of the gun shot,
the tiger fled from the scene towards the forest. Even though the guard fired at the
animal, it was well beyond the range. The guard assured the boy of safety and kept a
watch on the surroundings. After returning from the hunting, when uncle Jim came to
know about the boy‟s encounter with the tiger, he was shocked. He pleaded with the boy
not to reveal this episode to any one, as his grandparents would be sad. Only after many
years did Bond brought this incidence in the form of a story.
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The story is not so special. But for Bond‟s readers, it would be a thrilling
experience to know one of his haunting experiences!
Bond’s Love for Leopards:
Like tigers, Bond is also fond of Leopards. A few stories of Bond, do speak about Bond‟s
involvement with cheetahs. Bond may not have the same kind of love for leopards that he
has for tigers, but he does include them in his writings. Stories like „Bina Has a Long
Walk,‟ ‘The Leopard,‟ and ‘The Tunnel’ have a strong presence of these felines in them.
„The Tunnel’ is a story, which narrates a boy‟s curiosity with a train, a tunnel and
ultimately with the jungle. Ranji, the boy, one day moves away from town. He has a wish
to see the train moving out of a tunnel, which is in the midst of a forest. He does so and
then passing through the tunnel meets the watchman, whose job is to monitor the tunnel
and give clearance to the movement of the trains that are two in number; one in the day
and one in the night.
Finding the guard in the middle of the forest alone, Ranji asks him about his life
and work. He also enquires with Kishan Singh, the guard, about the inhabitants of the
jungle. Ranji also enquires with Kishan Singh about a leopard that he has just seen.
Kishan Singh says that the leopard is a friend of his and it is harmless. The guard even
invites Ranji to visit him if he wishes to see the night train passing through the tunnel.
Being a bit apprehensive about the jungle and its merciless dwellers, Ranji asks Kishan
Singh whether it is safe out in the jungle to be alone at night? Through the watchman,
Ruskin Bond provides an answer which indeed compels one to ponder on the two
different worlds; the world of the civilized human beings and that of the uncivilized
brutes. Kishan Singh says:
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“It is safer in the jungle than in the town. No rascals out here. Only last week,
when I went into the town, I had my pocket picked! Leopards don‟t pick pockets.”
Taking permission from his parents, Ranji visits Kishan Singh at his hut the next day at
evening. When it was time for the night train to arrive, they listen to some sawing sound
as if someone is cutting through a tree. Kishan Singh immediately identifies the sound; it
is a sound from the leopard. He feels that if it remains in the tunnel, it gets trampled by
the train. He asks Ranji to stay in the hut and he would drive away the animal from the
tunnel by shouting at it. However, Ranji determines to go with the watchman as he has
not that much of courage to be alone in the darkness. Kishan Singh assures him that they
will be safe and there is no need to worry. He feels the animal is a friend of him and
cannot harm him anyway. He says to Ranji,
“It (leopard) knows me well. We have seen each other earlier many times. I don‟t
think it will attack. Even so, I will take my axe along.”
Kishan Singh, carrying a small axe, and bare-handed Ranji enter the tunnel with a lamp.
Singh shouts at the top of his voice to scare the animal. The boy tries, but he cannot
produce any sound out of fear. After some twenty paces, they find the leopard crouching
between the tracks. Now, even Ranji shouts with Kishan Singh. The sound echoes in the
tunnel and the leopard gets confused with the sound. It fails to understand how many
humans could be there. With that confusion, it simply turns away and melts into the
darkness. To make sure it has gone, both Ranji and the watchman walk the length of the
tunnel and come back to the entrance. They listen to the sound of the night train
approaching. Ranji fulfils his wish of watching the night train passing through the tunnel
like a dragon of his dream.
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The story, though simple in narration, gives a simple message. „Live in harmony
with nature. Live in harmony with the inhabitants of the forest. Have a heart and mind
that of small children. Be curious about forest and beasts. Chiefly, never think of harming
them.‟ Bond is at his best once again giving this message!
A Long Walk for Bina:
The story is about a little girl called Bina and two other boys. Apart from the human
characters, a leopard can also be treated as one of the major characters of the story. The
children are from a small village named Koli and after joining school in a small town
called Nauti, they start commuting from their village to the town via a stretch of forest
space. In the school, they come to know about a leopard that has made the forest its home
after its own home was destroyed for constructing a dam. It has rehabilitated itself from
its place of origin.
Unlike the story „Leopard’ where the animal gets hunted by greedy human
beings, here in the story the leopard remains alive till the end. Bond‟s intention in the
story „Leopard‟ is to speak about man‟s cruelty, whereas, it is to highlight the fact that
one has to live in harmony with animals in the story „Bina has a Long Walk.‟ At one
stage in the story, speaking about the importance of coexistence, Bina tells her brother;
“…. And there‟s plenty of space for all of us. Even when the dam is ready there
will still be room for leopards and humans.”
Apart from the vitality of coexistence, the story also speaks of the dangers posed by the
construction of dams to a lot of people, especially villagers. Dams which were considered
to be boon for human kind are now treated to be banes by environmentalists. Thousands
of big and small dams have been constructed in India in a matter of three to four decades
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for reasons unknown even to authorities. Noted environmentalists like Arudhati Roy,
Medha Patkar and others have been educating masses on the ill effects of dams. It is true
that dams bring positive changes in scores of lives, but it is equally true that they become
a matter of concern over a period of many years. Dams which convert barren lands into
fertile at the beginning play the reverse role after a few decades. The western countries
have found this truth and they have stopped constructing dams. Ironically, the same
countries assist India in constructing bigger dams. Silt, which begins to accumulate in the
collected water, plays a major role in changing that huge reservoir area into barren land
over a period of time.
A lot of physical changes have to be made for the construction of any dam.
Thousands of acres of forestland has to be used and the area‟s flora and fauna would
definitely be affected. Mountains have to be blasted and due to these physical changes the
place may later remain prone to earthquakes. Studies have proven these concerns right. If
the construction occurs close to people‟s residing area, then the damage caused is
unimaginable. Hundreds of villages have to be shifted and thousands of people have to be
relocated. This unexpected change would leave a perennial negative impression in the
minds of all those people. Those lives can never be same again for these innocent people.
These people who do not get benefitted in any way because of the construction of a dam
are always losers. They lose for the benefit of others. Many may lose their lives in the
process!
Bond does not go deeper into all these issues in the story as the story is written for
children and young adults. Even though, he subtly brings this issue in the story, he
succeeds in arousing many vital questions in the minds of those curious minds. Even
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though, the issues affecting the lives of animals and people are serious, Bond does not
present them seriously. He simply mentions them for the young readers. In the story,
while mentioning about the problem of resettlement for animals because of the
construction of dam, he writes:
“…. She (Bina) did not know it, but all the animals and most of the birds had
already left the area. The leopard had been among them.” (A Long Walk for Bina,
p 39)
Nature is one thing without which it is very difficult to live for human beings. Man is
surviving merely because there is the nourishing nature. Man is wiped out of the face of
the earth if the elements of nature are not present. As it is often mentioned in the course
of study, the sun, the moon, the earth, air, water and many more elements are essential for
the man to live comfortably. From time immemorial, the earth is worshipped on par with
mother in India, hence it is called „mother earth.‟
The earth has not only been preserving but also nurturing life on it for many
centuries. It has give space for all the living being to live and survive. Of late, man has
been plundering the natural resources present deeper in the earth in the name of
development and betterment of human kind. He has dug hundreds of mile deep pits into
the core of the earth to get these resources. In the pretext of exploring, he has been
exploiting the very earth. But, the earth does not get angry and deny man his due till he
crosses his limit. She simply pardons all these silly mistakes of man. Therefore, women
who are equated with the earth, are called „Kshamaya Dharitri’ that means one who has
the quality of pardoning like that of the earth.
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The mud on the earth that is untouched by the greed of human beings always has
a wonderful aroma. Ironically, in the modern era, it has become difficult for one to get
this pleasant aroma as the earth is covered with concrete jungles, especially in towns and
cities. One has to visit villages or forestland to breathe this aroma. The curious thing
about this aroma is that it can be sensed only when rain showers on the earth, especially
the first rains. Unless the earth mixes with the water, it does not give away its rare
fragrance. This matchless fragrance is a celebrated topic for poets and writers. Even,
Ruskin Bond mentions about this aroma in his writings. Mentioning about the first rains
and the aroma of the earth, Bond writes in ‘A Long Walk for Bina’:
„The first rain arrived while Bina, Prakash and Sonu were returning home from
school. Those first few drops on the dusty path made them cry out with
excitement. Then the rain grew heavier and a wonderful aroma rose from the
earth.
„The best smell in the world!‟ exclaimed Bina.‟
Everything suddenly came to life. The grass, the crops, the trees, the birds. Even
the leaves of the trees glistened and looked new. (A Long Walk for Bina, p 46)
The lines not only praise the aroma but also speak the vitality of the rains. A small girl
like Bina has acknowledged the importance of aroma of the earth by calling it „The best‟
smell in the world. She and her dear ones have appreciated the rains by welcoming it
through a dance. Bond remains special for one reason. He has created a wonderful world
of such matured characters of children. If he has made sensible someone, it is a child and
not an adult!
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Hunting Animals:
Not only as a lover of animals, even as an ordinary human being Bond detests killing
animals. His writings clearly indicate that man is „more cruel‟ than animals. He is beastly
in nature. One can find Bond writing about the game of hunting in many stories. But, it is
to be noted that Bond, never supports such a game where merciless killing of innocent
animals is involved.
Stories like „Tiger My Friend,‟ „The Leopard,‟ and „Trapped by a Tiger’ involve
the acts of hunting. Even though, there is hunting, animals do not get killed in „Tiger My
Friend’ and „Trapped by a Tiger’ but in „The Leopard,‟ the animal gets killed and
through this story Bond, seems to unveil the utter inhuman qualities of men. He may
wants to suggest that merely for the sake of money, human beings do not mind
mercilessly killing the rare animals. It is the man who has been a reason for the extinction
of innumerable animals due to his shameless act of killing, sometimes for money and
most of the times for fun and thrill. Animals hunt other animals for their livelihood, they
have to do so for their survival. But, man hunts them for other reasons. He can live
without hunting wild animals. But, he finds strange joy in killing those mute animals.
Bond is very much against this beastly nature. „The Leopard’ clearly manifests this
quality of man.
The story begins with a beautiful description of a stream and its surrounding
landscapes that exist in the forest close to the hilly city of Mussoorie. The writer‟s love
for nature and his writing about it in a picturesque manner would give a reader a live
experience of watching those beautiful parts of nature before one‟s eyes. Bond takes care
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of each and every minute detail in describing the heavenly beauty of nature. Here is an
example of Bond‟s description of the forest and its beauty from the story „The Leopard.‟
“Below my cottage was a forest of oak and maple and Himalayan rhododendron. A
narrow path twisted its way down through the trees, over an open ridge where red
sorrel grew wild, and then steeply down through a tangle of wild raspberries, creeping
vines and slender bamboo. At the bottom of the hill, the path led on to a grassy verge,
surrounded by wild dog roses. (It is surprising how closely the flora of the lower
Himalayas, between five thousand and eight thousand feet, resembles that of the
English countryside.)” (Dust on the Mountains, p 258)
Bond goes on to narrate the beauty of a ravine, a stream, even the small pebbles under the
stream in a wonderful manner. Bond explaining the beauty of an Indian forest, compares
it with the nature of English countryside. His eye for detail is matchless.
After describing the beauty of the forest, Bond then speaks of the leopard that he
sees accidentally. Bond gets astonished to see a leopard in a patch of forest that is so
close to a city. But then he says that it is may be because of man‟s greed for spaces.
Man‟s craze for urbanization has led to disappearance of forest patches. A lot of
deforestation has led to shrinking of forestland and hence the wild animals are bereft of
safe havens. They are rendered homeless and hence the movement of animals like deer
into these unsafe forest patches. When deer move, naturally leopards follow. This is how
Bond justifies the presence of leopard in this part of forest close to a city.
When Bond first sees the leopard, it is poised on a boulder about twenty feet
above where he has stood. The leopard at first is not looking at Bond, but when it starts
looking at him, Bond gets bit scared and the animals gets astonished. To give himself
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confidence, Bond claps his hand and the leopard jumps into a thicket and melts in the
forest green. Even though, Bond does not see the animal for the next few days, he feels
the presence of it for sure. He has developed a kind of harmonious relationship with the
animals of the jungle and no one is bothered with his presence. If other animals do not get
disturbed by Bond‟s presence, and stay right before him fearlessly, leopard is not so. It is
shy of him, may be scared of him and tries to stay away from him, at a safer distance.
But, it is confident that this man is not dangerous to it.
In the meanwhile, once, the writer finds the remains of a barking deer. He gets
surprised to see it partly eaten. Looking at the carcass, he comes to the conclusion that it
must have been disturbed by some. And then, he finds a group of hunters in the jungle.
They are here in search of the leopard. When they ask about the presence of a leopard in
the jungle, Bond lies that he has not seen any leopard in the vicinity. He wants to save the
animal from the cruel hunters. But, they somehow know that the leopard is there in the
forest. They do warn Bond of the leopard and suggest him to carry a gun with him to
protect himself from the beast. But, why should Bond be afraid of the animal? Even
though they do not know each other fairly well, they are friends in a way. They need not
be afraid of each other! They share a strong bond between the two.
One day, Bond climbs up to a hill named Pari Tibba. He climbs it for the first
time out of curiosity. It is said that British colonizers had tried to live on this hill after
building a number of houses. But, the hill was always haunted by lightening. So the
settlers moved to some other place deserting Pari Tibba. Now there are only remains and
ruins of those houses. When the writer reaches that place, he is astonished by the eerie
silence that exists there. He feels the absence of birds and animals. Suddenly, he feels the
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presence of the leopard. The place can be so only because the leopard has made it its
residing place. Bond imagines that the animal might be watching him from somewhere.
Knowing well that this man is harmless, it does not try to harm him. It simply ignores
him. It simply trusts him. Such is the bond between the duo.
But, Bond rues such a bond. Because, the next day, he sees the hunters carrying
the dead body of the leopard tying it to a pole, feet up and head down. Bond, somehow
feels that he may be the cause for the beautiful animal‟s death. He thinks that “Did the
leopard, trusting one man, make the mistake of bestowing his trust on others? Did I, by
casting out all fear – my own fear, and the leopard‟s protective fear – leave him
defenceless?” (Dust on the Mountains, p263) Whatever may be the reason, the animal is
dead now. The hunters have killed it for merely a thousand rupees or so.
At the end of the story, Bond does not criticize the cruel action of the hunters. He
leaves it to the readers. He remains simply sad for being reason for the dumb animal‟s
death. However, any sensitive reader would definitely find the hunters‟ action as cruel
and inhuman!
The Writer’s Engagement with Birds:
When it comes to nature, Bond‟s relationship with it is matchless. Trees, shrubs, bushes,
mountains, rivers, glaciers become an indispensable part of his writing. None of these in
his vicinity can escape from his attention. One can name it, it could be found in Bond‟s
writing. The instance of shrubs or bushes can be taken here. A layman would never
bother to know them, or even if he/she knows about them, the number would be
minimum. But Bond has so many collection of them in his writings. One can find
bilberry, raspberry, wild yellow jasmine, dog-rose, bramble, hawthorn, kingora, buddleia,
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and many more including varieties of vines and creepers. The knowledge is awesome!
Same kind of knowledge goes with the names of trees.
Birds, which are a part of nature have also fascinated Bond like animals. He has
equal love for birds as he has for other agents of nature. Many birds have adorned his
writings. They have escalated the beauty of his anecdotes. Birds like whistling-thrushes,
sparrows, bluejay, parakeets, mynas, rosy pastors, crested bulbuls without crests, barbets,
bright-green parrots, green pigeons, yellow-bottomed bulbuls, finches, coppersmiths,
pine martens, Horsfield‟s nightjars and many more have inspired his literature. His
interest for these flying beauties is not restricted to only popular and beautiful birds, but
even for other not-so-known and not-so-beautiful birds.
The writer disapproves if one has written wrongly about these beings. Speaking
about the common birds like an owl Bond writes, “The little jungle owlet has a note
which is both mellow and musical. One misguided writer has likened its call to a
motorcycle starting up, but this is libel. If only motorcycles sounded like the jungle owl,
the world would be a more peaceful place to live and sleep in.” Human beings have
certain reservations against certain birds and animals. We consider an owl or a crow not
only ugly but also agents of ill luck or bad omen but Bond attempts to treat them fairly.
His writing on these creatures is an endeavor to free readers from such inhibitions. No
animal or bird can bring ill luck. Only our fate can do so!
Bond‟s observation of birds is also worth mentioning. While explaining the bird
bluejay, Bond writes, “the bird is fairly nondescript, but when it takes flight it reveals the
glorious bright blue wings and the tail, banded with a lighter blue. It sits motionless, but
the large dark eyes are constantly watching the ground in every direction. A grasshopper
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or cricket has only to make a brief appearance, and the bluejay will launch itself straight
at its prey. In spring and early summer the „roller‟ lives up to its other name. It indulges
in love flights in which it rises and falls in the air with harsh grating screams – a real
rock-„n‟-roller.” (Book of Nature, p39)
Every country has legends about animals and birds. There are imaginary creatures
as well. Bond recalls such a legend recounted by Romain Rolland about the bird
kingfisher, which tells us that the bird acquired its resplendent colors by flying straight
towards the sun when Noah let it out of the Ark. Its upper plumage took the color of the
sky above, while the lower was scorched a deep russet by the rays of the setting sun.
(Book of Nature, p41)
Like many of the animals, even birds have been a subject for Bond‟s writing. He
tries to speak of human beings through the birds. In fact, that could be the intention of the
writer. Birds like parrot, myna and even a crow become major characters for him. A brief
analysis of a few stories is written below.
A Crow for All Seasons:
The very first sentence of the story is humorous. It says, „Early to bed and early to
rise makes a crow healthy, wealthy and wise.‟ (Dust on the Mountains, p512) The adage
is used for men, but here the writer uses it for crows. The story is a kind of a chapter from
an autobiography. Here the autobiography is of a crow, that calls itself Speedy, and it
proudly shares with the readers its life with human beings. As animal characters are
found to be wise in classics like „Gulliever‟s Travels‟ and „Animal Farm‟ here also
Speedy is equally wise. Through a crow‟s eye, it evaluates the traits of human beings and
the evaluation seems to be accurate without any bias!
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Speedy says that on a particular stretch of road, the crows‟ community that lives
there has shared houses separately for themselves so that there would not be any quarrel
among each other. Here the crow lives in the premises of a bungalow with a cousin by
name Slow who is very lazy. All the foraging has to be done by Speedy as he is busy
preening his feathers. He tries to look more handsome as he wants to attract another crow
that lives in a banyan tree. To be in love is not only for humans, it exists even among
crows!
Crows are always neglected even though they help in clearing a lot of waste.
Human beings hate the color, the voice and the very appearance of a crow. No one wishes
to take them as pets. Not only human beings but also dogs do not prefer the meat of a
crow. The narrator crow rues such discrimination. It recalls how a dog called Tiger who
lives with the human beings in the bungalow hates it. The dog, according to Speedy, is
„all brawn and no brain.‟ Still, it is leading a dignified life with humans. This dog, being
an animal, does not help the crow in getting some food from its plate. Instead, it tries to
attack the crow, as it has managed on a few occasions to get food from its plate wisely.
On a certain day, it tries to bite Speedy, but all it gets is only a tail feather of the crow.
The dog spits it in disgust. Speedy very sadly says then, “Who wants crow‟s meat,
anyway?”
When it comes to the wisdom of crows, the bird proudly says that they are wiser
than anyone, even human beings. It recalls how the great sage Pratysataka had once said
that „Nothing can improve a crow.‟ It comments on the saying that, like most of the
human sages, even Pratyasataka was not clear about his thinking. So there has been some
misunderstanding about what he means. But, the crows have clearly understood the
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meaning of the sentence. It simply says that „crows are so perfect that no improvement is
possible.‟ However, the human beings think otherwise which is bad. They seem to be
always jealous about the wisdom of crows!
Speedy is critical of humans‟ habits. It makes fun of people who keep napkins on
a table to wipe mouth after food. As a crow, it calls the practice a nonsense. But, the crow
is more critical of crows. It recalls how the other crows, its own friends, attached it when
it did not look like a crow while wearing a ring around its neck. The ring got stuck in its
neck accidentally when it had tried to snatch some food from the table of the humans.
But, looking at this strange appearance, the other crows came down heavily on it and
even tried to kill it until it announced strongly that it was Speedy, their own friend. The
crow rues this hasty behavior of crows. It shouts at them, “You‟re just like a bunch of
lousy humans! You‟re no better than them – this is just the way they carry on amongst
themselves.”
Once, one of the family members, called Junior Sahib, shoots a crow dead by
name Charm assuming it to be Speedy. He wanted to take revenge on Speedy as it used to
steal food or toothbrushes from the home. After the death of their friend, the other crows
swear vengeance on Junior Sahib even though Speedy is ready to pardon him. Whenever
Junior Sahib enters the garden, many crows would swoop down on him screeching and
swearing and aiming at lusty blows at his head and hands. They attack him even when he
is out wearing a sola topi. When this continues for a few days, Memsahib of the house
remarks that crows seem not in a mood to forgive Junior Sahib. Her husband, a colonel
says that „elephants never forget and crows never forgive.‟
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At the same time, as Junior Sahib begins to grow restless, the family decides to
visit a hill station for a brief period as they all need a change. Now it becomes a problem
for Speedy and Slow as they depend on the family for their food all these days. They
could not go the next door as the crows there would drive them away. They think of
going to railway station or the bazaar where there would always be a lot of rubbish to be
found. But, the competition over there scares them. The station crows are usually
gangsters and the bazaar crows are bullies. They cannot even go to jungle for a while as
they are termed outcasts by the crows of jungle. Now they realize how much they depend
on humans! This whole episode is a mockery of the human world where they grow so
selfish as the crows in description.
Now, Speedy decides to go in search of its owners; to the hill station. It reaches
there and meets the Junior Sahib with a caw. As soon as he sees the crow, he grows
agitated and begins to run helter-skelter. Now, he realizes that there is no run from crows,
instead he could be a friend of them to save himself. On returning home, he befriends
crows by feeding them. The story ends with wise words of Speedy. It says about Junior
Sahib or for that matter about human beings in general, “From persecutor to protector;
from beastliness to saintliness. And sometimes it can be the other way round: you never
know with humans!” The valuation of the crow about human beings appears to be
flawless!
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one must be careful. Growing conflicts between animals and human beings in the present
era is an example for this! We need to be more careful like now. If not, we may be treated
like aunt Ruby!
The wonderful world of Children:
Most of the stories of Bond are autobiographical in nature. The major characters
in most of the stories are children and animals. Even though there are adults, there
number is limited. Bond re-enlivens the lives of many of his friends through his writing.
All these characters have a lasting life as they are mentioned time and again in Bond‟s
writing. Nature has a dominant presence in several stories. The timeless characters like
Binya, Bina, Rakesh, Arun, Koki, Nathu, Sitaram, Ranji, Suraj, Romi, Madhu, Kamla
and many others are going to enthrall the readers for years to come through their innocent
presence. They are immortals!
Many of the stories of Ruskin Bond have children protagonists. Traits of children
are unraveled through these stories. There is a marvelous display of innocence, maturity,
bravery, adventurous spirit, and childish pranks in these stories. Nature and children are
like two faces of a coin in Bond‟s stories. He seems to have enjoyed the very act of
exploring these two worlds of nature and children untiringly. A few stories with children
characters are analyzed here.
The Blue Umbrella:
The story unravels the wonderful world of children; their innocence, their selfless traits
and their maturity too! The story which is also made into a movie has two representatives
from two worlds, one that of the children and the other that of the adult. If Binya
represents the world of children, the old Ram Bharosa represents the adult world.
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Through these two unforgettable characters, Bond has indeed woven a fantastic tale of
love and hate relationship between two individuals.
At the beginning of the story, Binya comes in possession of a blue umbrella by
exchanging her necklace of a leopards‟ claw with a young picnicker. The pretty umbrella
becomes the attraction in the whole of village. Strangely, old Ram Bharosa, the tea shop
owner too developed an instant liking for the umbrella. He wants to purchase it with
Binya, but she is never interested to part it. Once, when lost in the winds, Binya, finds
and regains it staking her life!
With growing impatience in the mind to possess the charming umbrella, Ram
Bharosa, once even tries to get it with the help of an assistant. The assistant tries to steal
it for the sake of a few rupees, but unsuccessfully. However, Binya records all these
miserable attempts of Ram Bharosa in her mind. Knowing the effort of Ram Bharosa in a
crooked way, the villagers stop visiting Ram Bharosa‟s shop considering him
untrustworthy. His business gets dull and he remains alone having a sick look on his face.
Binya, who passes before Ram Bharosa‟s shop does not fail to notice the sad state
of the shop keeper. She begins for feel sorry for him. She begins to feel that she is
responsible for his condition. It is only because of the umbrella all these things have
happened. She makes up her mind to compensate the loss Ram Bharosa has suffered
financially and mentally.
One day, Binya visits the shop on the pretext of buying a toffee. After getting the
toffee, she leaves the counter without taking umbrella with her. Ram Bharosa notices this
and he gets elated a few seconds thinking that now he can own this long cherished
umbrella without any problem and it would be impossible for anyone to prove that Binya
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had forgotten it at the counter. However, he changes his mind and runs after Binya
calling her name taking with him the umbrella. He tries to hand over the umbrella to
Binya saying she had forgotten it at the counter. But, Binya refuses to accept the umbrella
saying she does not need it now and he can keep it. The conversation that goes on
between them is noteworthy:
Ram Bharosa: “Binya, Binya!”… “You have left your umbrella behind! You
forgot it – the umbrella!”
Binya: (Shaking her head) “You keep it. I don‟t need it anymore.”
Ram Bharosa: (protesting) “But it‟s such a pretty umbrella! It‟s the best umbrella
in the village.”
Binya: “I know, but an umbrella isn‟t everything.” (The Blue Umbrella, p75)
The author sums up this beautiful conversation with these lines: “And she left the old
man holding the umbrella, and went tripping down the road, and there was nothing
between her and the bright blue sky.” (The Blue Umbrella, p75)
Both the conversation and the concluding lines add beauty to the story. Bond
assigns magnanimous qualities to both these characters in these lines. Binya, who had the
childish selfishness towards the umbrella, becomes great by thinking that she is
responsible for the misery of Ram Bharosa and so she should compensate it. So she
readily offers the umbrella to the old man. Even Ram Bharosa who had acted cheaply in
the past and who had even tried to get the umbrella stolen now behaves prudently. In
spite of getting a chance to own the umbrella without much difficulty, he does not do so
and tries to return the pretty umbrella to Binya. He later, as if to redeem his mistakes
offers a silver chain with a bear‟s paw as pendent to Binya. The author provides a happy
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ending to the story by these above events and also by telling that Ram Bharosa has
customers now after Binya and he have become friends. Now he offers umbrella to all
those who cherish to hold it in their hands. He has changed and this change has paid rich
dividends.
„The Blue Umbrella,‟ with the characters Binya, Bijju, Rajaram and Ram Bharosa
is pretty. It shows how even children like Binya act maturely and how they value
relationships above material comfort and prosperity. At the same time, in a character like
Rajaram, Bond shows that children can also be innocent and a bit bad! It is not a surprise
that with these beautiful characters, the story has been made a movie!
Wild Fruit:
The story reveals the innocent and naughty traits of children which trouble others.
However, the mistake committed by such children is pardonable as they do not know the
difference between what is good and what is bad.
The story is about a boy named Vijay who is from a poor family. Daily he needs
to travel a distance of four kilometers to school and there is no food in the afternoons due
to this. The boy usually feels hungry by the time he reaches school as he has his humble
breakfast in the morning at seven itself. Many a times, the teacher‟s teaching does not get
into his head due to hunger. On his way to school he is supposed to pass through a bazaar
where he is attracted by the sweets and numerous kinds of fruits and sweet stalls.
One day, after school hours, while he passes through the bazaar observes a small
boy buying sweets from a shop. He sees the boy repeatedly at corners of the road taking a
sweet from a cover that he is carrying and placing it in his mouth. The boy looks at Vijay
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as if he is going to offer a sweet to him but does not do so. Vijay also feels shy to look at
him lest the boy reads his yearning for the sweets.
After a few minutes when they come into open, the boy places the cover on a
bench allowing this act to be seen by Vijay before disappearing. Vijay who is very
hungry goes to the bench, picks up the cover and feels the weight. He is sure that the
wrappers in the cover have many sweets. With lot of happiness and curiosity, once out of
town, Vijay opens a wrapper to eat the sweet. To his disappointment, the wrapper
contains only a small pebble and not a sweet! When he opens another, he finds the same
content. Now, Vijay understands that the boy just wanted to make fun of his hunger and
craving for sweets. Disgusted with such an evil design, Vijay throws the cover to dust
filled with tears in eyes. The final line of the story in the context is meaningful, “There
are no wild fruits in November.” (Great Stories for Children, p167)
The story, that has a sad end, points out at the childish nature. The rich boy seems
to play with the emotions of Vijay. It appears, he wants to make fun of Vijay‟s poverty.
But, there is no point in passing such judgment on the boy, because he is after all a boy.
He is not matured enough to decide what is good and what is bad. Moreover, he is not
aware that Vijay is from a poor family. He does not know that sweets are rare for Vijay.
There is no conversation between two. Hence, while showing sympathy for Vijay, a
reader should not be harsh towards the rich boy. One must be generous enough to pardon
him for his immaturity and childish prank!
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Chapter 5:
BOND IN COMPARISON WITH
WORSWORTH AND HARDY
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Chapter 5:
BOND IN COMPARISON WITH WORSWORTH AND HARDY
William Wordsworth:
Wordsworth‟s poetry is best known for its affinity to nature. The early nineteenth century
was marked by excess industrialization, and Wordsworth, like his contemporaries Blake
and Coleridge sought solace in the divine presence of nature. Moving away from the
traditional, classical approach to poetry which was marked by grandeur and use of high
flown language, Wordsworth wrote poetry for the common man in ordinary language. He
found a communion between man and nature and hence, there is a strong presence of
nature in most of his poems.
Wordsworth is rightly called the high priest of nature. Nature meant Wordsworth
many things, it was a moral teacher, best mother, guardian and nurse of man. For him,
nature was a living personality in which a divine spirit pervades. He found such spirit in
all the objects of nature. Wordsworth believed that due to such quality nature can heal
man‟s sorrows in times of distress. It can teach much more than what books teach him.
Nature can teach man more of moral evils and good better than any philosophy. He
always felt that nature can be the best teacher for man. In the communion with nature, no
man can be imperfect, was the belief of Wordsworth.
Wordsworth‟s love for nature can be traced in three stages as he records the same
in his poem ‘Tintern Abbey.‟ In the first stage, in his boyhood, nature was simply a
playground for him. In the second stage, his love for nature developed as he was attracted
by its sensuous and aesthetic appeal. In the last stage, the poet developed a spiritual and
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intellectual attitude towards nature, which made him consider nature as a teacher and
educator.
Wordsworth was a poet of eye and ear; natural sights and sounds made him write
thousands of lines praising those visual and aural beauties. He wrote about rivers,
mountains, bowers, glades, flowers, buds, woods and so many aesthetic scenes, at the
same time, he truly recorded the sounds of birds, beasts, winds and waters. He was
influenced by every single object of nature and wrote only in praise of it. Unlike many
other poets of nature, Wordsworth never wrote critically about it. He never saw the other,
devastating, ugly face of nature. He never recorded the ferocious face of nature in any of
his writings. He simply neglected that aspect of nature and concentrated only on the
beautiful part of nature. In this respect, even Bond differs from Wordsworth as Bond has
recorded nature in all its colours. Bond has written about the wonderful and at the same
time, ugly face of nature.
A few lines of Wordsworth show what attitude did he have for nature:
“The world is too much with us; late or soon, getting and spending, we lay waste our
powers: Little we see in Nature that is ours.”
“Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.”
“For I have learned to look on nature, not as in the hour of thoughtless youth, but hearing
oftentimes the still, sad music of humanity.”
“Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher.”
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“Why do not words and kiss, and solemn pledge, and nature that is kind in woman‟s
breast, and reason that in man is wise and good, and fear of Him who is a righteous Judge
– why do not these prevail for human life, to keep two hearts together, that be.”
In all the above lines, Wordsworth‟s love for nature is manifested than one can find in
any other nature poet.
Thomas Hardy:
Thomas Hardy, a contemporary of William Wordsworth, does portray nature albeit in a
different manner than him. Hardy‟s novels are known as Wessex novels, where the term
Wessex referes to a semi-fictitious landscape. One can easily identify the towns and
landscapes located within the South-west of England in the works of Hardy. In his
autobiography, Hardy identifies the important correlation between humans and their
environment, highlighting the significance this interaction has in our understanding of the
landscape. He claims: “an object or mark raised or made by man on a scene is worth ten
times any such formed by unconscious Nature. Hence clouds, mists, and mountains are
unimportant beside the wear on a threshold, or the print of a hand.”
Hardy differs from Wordsworth in his treatment of nature mainly in one aspect;
he does not worship nature as Wordsworth. Hardy does not see any spiritual being in
nature, he does not even believe that nature has a separate soul of her own. He loves it for
its beauty and nothing else. He does not believe that there could be a mystic soul in
nature. In that sense, he is a realist. But, he is a romantic in the sense that he gets easily
carried away by the beauty of natural beauty like moonlit glades, hills and dales,
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blooming flowers, music of birds and rivers, sunrise, sunset, dawn, dusk etc. These
inspire him to produce beautiful works of literature.
Unlike Wordsworth, Hardy presents to readers both the beautiful and ugly faces
of nature. He is not blind to the ugly face of nature that sometimes wrecks havoc in
others‟ lives. He is aware that the plant that yields beautiful Rose does carry a thorn in the
stem, he knows that where there is music of birds, there is also hiss of a serpent, he does
not forget that there is beautiful music of birds, but it is only short lived. He finds nature,
red in tooth and claw. When Hardy sees the victory of strong over weak in nature, he is
not happy. He comes to the sorry conclusion that mutual butchery is the law of it. Being
sad with such a cruel world of nature, Hardy returns to human world where at least one
can find „life loyalties.‟
Nature for Wordsworth was a guardian and nurse of man besides being many
other things. But, for Hardy it is not so. If Wordsworth feels that nature has the capacity
to heal human wounds, Hardy thinks otherwise. He feels nature is completely indifferent
to human woes. Even when human life suffers, no changes can be found in the natural
world, it goes on as usual. Atrocities on weak humans happen before and in the midst of
nature, but nature never tries to stop them and protect the weak. Then how can it be
called a protector of human beings, questions Hardy. He does not consider nature a
teacher as well because Hardy finds the teachings of nature vile and sinister. Hence,
Hardy can be seen as a writer who tries to see nature in both the ways, as a nurturer and
destroyer of human life. He is not emotional towards nature but he is a realist. He differs
from Wordsworth in these aspects.
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Chapter 6:
CONCLUSION:
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Chapter 6:
CONCLUSION:
After having studied a few selected stories of Ruskin Bond, one of the finest writers of
the time, several conclusions are drawn. It is the intent of the author to show in the
research activity that Bond has a close affinity towards nature and he can truly be called a
writer of nature. The author has made several observations through out the study which
can be summarized in the following manner:

Nature as an inseparable part of Bond‟s Writing:
With a few stories the writer has tried to show that Ruskin Bond includes nature as one of
the chief character in most of his writings. The characters of the stories, live in
communion with the nature, in the lap of nature and they are never separated from each
other. The settings of the stories are also made in the midst of nature. Even a story like
„The Blue Umbrella’ which is basically about a girl and a blue umbrella has nature in its
backdrop. Natural surroundings are a part of Bond‟s writing and they obviously add more
beauty to the narration.

Bond‟s true representation of Nature:
Even though Ruskin Bond has a lot of love for the physical nature as he has been living
close to nature for decades, even though he presents in his writings nature as one of the
chief characters, he never shies away from evaluating it objectively. As it is already
mentions, nature has two different faces, one that of pretty and the other a ferocious one.
Bond has presented both of these traits in most of his writings. Beautiful landscapes,
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terraced fields, dense forests, heavenly glaciers, serene rivers, tough mountains, milky
waterfalls and many beautiful faces of nature, make backdrop of his writings. While
explaining these aesthetic faces of nature, Bond never forgets to show their volatile faces
as well. At least, a few of his stories depict this trait of nature which has a negative
impact on lives of scores of animals and human beings. Through the example of a few
stories, these two faces of nature has been explained in the work.

Bond‟s love for animals and birds:
Bond love for numerous animals is evident in most of his writings. As animals are a part
of physical nature, the writer includes them too in his narratives. Most of the animals and
birds find place in Bond‟s writings. He does not make any distinction between the „high‟
and „low‟ animals of their kingdom. He has included them all. There are all kinds of
animals; mammals, reptiles, birds, insects, amphibians and an assort of many animals. He
has treated many of these animals separately giving space for them all. The author has
tried to show in the work what kind of animals has Bond depicted in his writings and
what have they to teach human beings through these characters from natural world.

Bond‟s treatment of children:
Bond has a special place for children in his writings. Most of the writings of the writer
are autobiographical in nature, and hence he has added his childhood friends and the
children of this memory. Bond‟s stories are very popular among children and young
adults and there is obvious reason for the same: inclusion of many children characters.
Through the creation of many immortal children characters, Bond has tried to delve deep
into their world of innocence. His intention is to show that there is maturity far better
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than that of the adults in children through these characters. The research here has tried to
bring these aspects of Bond to fore.

Bond in comparison with Wordsworth and Hardy:
After looking at two nature writers, William Wordsworth and Thomas Hardy; and after
comparing Ruskin Bond with these two writers, one can come to the conclusion that
Bond is a mixture of these two writers in his treatment of nature. Bond tries to see both
the faces of nature, the beautiful and the ugly and cruel one. He may appear close to
Hardy in the treatment, but is not harsh like him. Like Wordsworth, he enjoys to portray
more of its benevolent face than the cruel face. He seems to have more of love than anger
for nature.
Significantly, Bond tries to blame humans only for their suffering in the lap of
nature. If nature is cruel towards human beings through famines and floods, it is only the
man who is to be blamed, not nature. Because, in his passion for development and
urbanization, man has destroyed the beautiful face of nature. He has been exploiting the
forces of nature without giving any thought for future. In umpteen pieces of writing,
Bond tries to explain this bitter truth to the readers. In this attempt, his concern for both
the human and natural world is evident. Whatever knowledge and intelligence men may
have, they remain helpless before the mighty forces of nature. Bond tries to reveal this
fact to men. He simply wants humans to exist in the company of nature which is motherly
in its treatment of the humans. He wishes men not to exploit nature, allow it to remain
chaste and beautiful not for nature‟s sake but for their own sake and safety. Such a
coexistence would benefit the duo, messages Bond!
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Structures of Authenticity in Ruskin Bond’s Fiction: Children, Cognition and TruthTelling by by Bandana Bal Chandnani, Adhyayan Publishers, 2011, New Delhi. Print
Ruskin, Our Enduring Bond by Ganesh Saili, Roli Books, 2004, New Delhi. Print
Mussoorie & Landour: Days of Wine & Roses by Ruskin Bond and Ganesh Saili, Roli
Books, 2010, New Delhi. Print.
Dust on the Mountain, Collected Stories by Ruskin Bond, Penguin Books, 2009, New
Delhi. Print.
Classic Ruskin Bond: Vol 1: The Memoirs by Ruskin Bond, Penguin Books, 2012, New
Delhi. Print.
Classic Ruskin Bond: Vol 2: The Memoirs by Ruskin Bond, Penguin Books, 2012,
New Delhi. Print.
The Book of Nature by Ruskin Bond, Penguin Books India, 2008, New Delhi. Print.
Tiger My Friend by Ruskin Bond, Rupa and Co., 2011, New Delhi. Print.
When the Tiger was King, Ed by Ruskin Bond, Rupa and Co., 2010, New Delhi. Print.
Stories Short and Sweet by Ruskin Bond, Rupa and Co., 2011, New Delhi. Print.
Great Stories for Children by Ruskin Bond, Rupa, 2012, New Delhi. Print.
A Long Walk for Bina by Ruskin Bond, Rupa and Co., 2010, New Delhi. Print.
Romi and Wildfire by Ruskin Bond, Rupa and Co., 2011, New Delhi. Print.
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Angry River by Ruskin Bond, Rupa and Co., 2010, New Delhi. Print.
E- Resources:
Portrayals of Animal Characters by Maneka Gandhi,
http://www.mathrubhumi.com/english/news/columns/fauna-forum/portrayal-of-animalcharacters-108232.html, 01-08-2014 8:30 pm. Web.
Children’s Propensity for Games in Ruskin Bond’s Short Stories by Sandhya Rani
Patnaik and Ranjit Kumar Pati, Golden Research Thoughts, Vol 2, Issue 5, Nov.
2012. Web.
Ruskin Bond as a Children Fictionist by Arati Ramachandra, Golden Research
Thoughts, Vol 3, Issue 10, April 2014. Web.
Speciality of Ruskin Bond’s Writings by Latha K. Reddy, International Journal of
English and Literature, Vol 5 (8), pp 170-173, October 2014. Web.
http://www.frostfriends.org/tutorial-4.html 13th March 2015, 5:13 am. Web.
https://neoenglish.wordpress.com/2010/12/11/thomas-hardys-treatment-of-nature-hisoriginality/. Web.
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Research Paper Presented at the Two-Day National Seminar ‘Post - Modernism and
Progressive India: Literary Articulations and Non – Literary Interventions’
organized by the Garden City College, Bangalore on 22nd and 23rd March 2013.
CHILDREN’S LITERATURE: A NEGLECTED GENRE IN THE PROGRESSIVE
INDIA?
Children‟s literature or juvenile literature can best be defined as literature written
primarily for children, not necessarily by children. India is a country which has more than
30 per cent of school going children, but it is disheartening to observe that literature of
this great nation does not cater to them all. If the past has a glorious literary history for
children, the present is not so promising and optimist.
Literature in ancient and medieval India: Literature for children in India existed long
before printing was invented in the form of oral narratives. The world‟s oldest collection
of stories for children is said to be ‘Panchatantra’ by Vishnu Sharma. It was written in
Sanskrit in around 200 AD. Jataka tales, stories related to the birth of Buddha are said to
have been written in 2nd or 3rd century BC. Similarly, the source stories for the popular
1001 Arabian Nights Alif Lyla written in around 8th century AD are also from India and
Persia. The first books for children in Urdu language seems to be „Pahelia‟ by the Indian
poet Amir Khusro that dates back to 1200s.
Literature seemed to be an easy tool for the adults to educate, instruct and
entertain children in the past as it is even in present. In the old joint family structure,
grandparents or parents used to narrate wonderful stories to children from mythologies,
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fables or traditional narratives. Generally, the stories were didactic in nature. Their aim
was to teach morality to children.
Children’s Literature in Pre-independent India: Christian Missionaries played a
pivotal role in spreading the literature for children in British Raj. They established
Calcutta School Book Society in 1817 creating a separate genre for Children‟s Literature.
Many Indian writers did contribute to the genre with their wonderful writings. Writers
like Rabindranath Tagore and Raja Shivaprasad created many books specially for
children. Raja Shivaprasad wrote more than 200 books for them.
Children’s Literature in 20th Century India: Children‟s literature flourished even in
the 20th Century India. The first full length book for children in Hindi was Khar Khar
Mahadev by Narayan Dixit. It was so popular that the book was serialized in a popular
magazine in 1957. Prominent Writers like Premchand too produced many vital books for
children. A Gujarathi educator by name Gijubai Badheka published over 200 books for
children in that language. The need for quality books for children was materialized with
the founding of Children‟s Book Trust by political cartoonist K Shankar Pillai in 1957.
Children’s Literature in Progressive India: Literature in the post modern India has
thrived a lot. It has seen various new genres. Dalit literature, feminist literature, etc., are a
few to name. However, literature for children has not been given lot of thrust to improve.
It has remained where it has been.
It is not that literature for children does not exist. It is only that it has not
prospered and groomed. Literature for children which took inception from oral narratives
is still there. But, sadly it is deteriorating. The tradition of oral narrative which was alive
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because of joint families is dying because of the change in the family structure. In today‟s
nuclear families there is no one to take the tradition forward. There are no grandparents,
and parents seem to be too busy with their own lives. Apart from a writer like Ruskin
Bond we hardly find any other writers who have dedicated their lives for children‟s
literature. Even though there are many writers in vernacular languages, they are not
brought in to limelight by the media.
Media of today have become blind to children‟s literature, especially print media
and that too English media. Not many newspapers and magazines give space for
children‟s literature which their counterparts in vernacular do. Even though there have
been many magazines for children in English and even in vernacular languages, they are
mostly read by children in urban areas. Rural children fail to lay their hands on them.
Even the writers of children‟s literature are not taken seriously by the publishers.
Their works of art are not considered profitable and hence they are not paid handsomely.
Even, noticeable awards are not dedicated for Children‟s literature. May be these are the
reasons why the literature is neglected in progressive India. If we have to bring our
children back from the clutches of electronic media which have been altering the
innocent lives of our children, there is a need to produce worthy literature for children. Is
not it the right time for all of us to think in this direction?
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Bibliography:
1. Nation, Identity and Children’s literature in India by Varsha Singh
2. Contemporary Children’s Literature in India by Kamal Sheoran
3. Children’s Literature in India by Bhattacharji Rose
4. Children’s Literature in India by Aparna
5. www.wikipedia.org/children‟s literature
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