Ruskin Bond again takes the readers to a magical world- not of
fairies, ghosts, or beautiful landscapes, but the world of common people, a
handful of nuts. Nothing specific or of much significance happens in the story.
It is just an account of day-to-day life in Dehra in the mid-1950s. In some
places, it seems like a diary account. Dehra is not described in the book; it
comes alive itself through the characters. These handful of nuts are ambitious
but empty from the pockets. William Matheson, Jai Shankar, Suresh Mathur, and
the funniest and most dear to Ruskin are Sitaram. This story presents the time
when Ruskin was back from England and decided to settle in Dehra, the town
where he spent most of his childhood. He hopes to be an established writer but
is constantly distracted by adventures In the initial days. He could manage to
write only 10-12 stories a month for different magazines and newspapers, which
bring him around 250 rs. a month. And his friends, with one or more strange
habits, rely on him financially for their number of needs. So it leaves him
with no fortune for 'rainy days'.
Then there is Indu, the princess, with whom Ruskin is
infatuated, but always fails to express his feelings because of her mother, the
Maharani.
The book was written when Ruskin Bond was in his sixties. And
the story is of a 21-year-old Ruskin, still aspiring to be an established
writer. So it immediately connects the reader to the author's memory where he
is longing for his past, the days of his youth, the days that made him the man
he is today- the Ruskin Bond.
This book brings the
reminiscences of simple and engrossing life events and evokes nostalgia for a
time gone by. Highly recommended for Ruskin Bond fans.
-Ekta Kubba
Comments
Post a Comment