The digital world and progressions in technology have altered the way of
life. But it has made students' life more competitive and full of anxiety and
restlessness. To calm the mind, children's imagination needs to be channelized
towards more comforting and simple things like the chatter of a stream, the
chirping of birds, and various scents coming out of house kitchens and markets.
Children need to know how to respect nature as well as human relations.
Lockdown due to the coronavirus epidemic has enhanced the stress of school
children who are now living a virtual school life, where they keep on studying
without chilling out with friends and schoolmates during lunch break. Here are
eight books by India's favorite oldest child Ruskin Bond, that can help school
children to tranquilize their minds for a while and befriend some crazy,
roguish, and imaginative children.
1. There
are some feel-good stuff, places, and moments in everyone's life. The
book, Getting Granny's Glasses, lets you live this feeling.
The children can experience different colors of nature and learn to
observe simple things around them that usually go unnoticed. Aren't kids
and old-aged people alike? yes, they are. The joy of savoring the
magnificence of nature has been best portrayed by Mr. Bond through granny.
The book offers visual descriptions of life in the hills and shows the
simplicity and care of humble hill folks amidst the harsh conditions in
the hills.
2. Eyes
of the Eagle depicts how responsible and strong the hill
people are! They have to adapt themselves according to harsh climatic and
high-altitude conditions. Their never-give-up attitude is the backdrop of
this story. Set in the Tung valley, where Shiva resides in his highest
abode, Tunganath temple, this book narrates the story of a boy Jai, his
dog Motu, a few of his people, and their courageous attempts at saving
their herd of sheep from the evil claws of a golden eagle and his mate.
3. Angry
River has one river, an island, a girl, her
grandparents, a boy, and a tree. That's all. Fighting for the necessities
and fighting against the odds of nature is the essence of this book. The
thing, that keeps the readers hooked to the book, is the aloofness of the
setting, being away from the crowd and noise and modernity. The story
reveals how impertinent nature can be! But what may come, the spirit of
these people never lets them give up. Though the story is about the
flooding of the island and its nearby villages, yet deeply it tells the
struggle of people residing in these kinds of areas where the bare
necessities of life are arduous to earn and present challenges to keeping
life moving. The book is about the courage that these people exhibit in
hard times and always start afresh after any kind of natural distress.
4. The
Road to the Bazaar is a book packed with lively scenes of a
small hill town in Northern India. Fed up with the humdrum of city life?
No time to perceive the primitiveness of life? Go grab this book. This
book lets the children experience the simple but exuberant life of a hill
town. Some joyous children indulge in such mischievous and inventive
activities that make life pleasant. You're going to experience an unusual
zoo made in the backyard of a house; watch the race of some unusual
animals (ahem! insects); some gossip full of laughter; music of the flute;
and a day spent on an old tree. This book is everything that a child can
imagine.
5. The
Blue Umbrella is a delightful and fascinating story that
teaches the virtues of benevolence, sacrifice, and letting go. It is tough
to let go of what you love with passion, but keeping human relations above
material fancies is what matters most. This is what Binya, the pretty and
brave girl discovers at the end of the story. Her life was full of
adventures after she gets her most dear possession, the blue umbrella. The
way the beauty of the blue umbrella and everyone's longing for it is
described shows the exceptional art of storytelling of Mr. Bond.
P.S. I wrote this article for kolkatafusion.com to be published on their blog for Ruskin Bond's birthday in the year 2021.
-Ekta Kubba
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