Book Review: How to Live your Life

Title: How to Live your Life

Author: Ruskin Bond

Publisher: Harper Collins

I have a special liking for the writing style of Ruskin Bond. His writings, especially when he writes about his daily routine, his home, his life, his morning walks and his love for nature, are simple, engaging and refreshing. His words just effortlessly ferry the readers to a land where time moves sluggishly and where one gets to soak in the natural surroundings. His words coax one - to develop a fresh eye to appreciate the tiny creatures on thin blades of grass, to admire the mettle of tender hill flowers against the rocky backdrop, to look for the sparkle of fireflies and to desire to be in the wide verdure. 

How to Live your Life is a collection of his personal notes and suggestions on various aspects of life. One can call it a compilation of his wisdom simplified in the form of brief quotes and suggestions. I specifically likes the subtle way in which one chapter ends and the next one picks from the last thread of the previous one. One can keep coming back to this book to read a page or two for the peace and calmness, which are the hallmarks of his writings.

I cannot complete this review without mentioning that I expected a little more, rather much more from this book which came out as a celebration of his 88th birthday. I felt it ran too short on quality content and substance for the readers to chew on. From an author who has lived such a fulfilling life, I am not convinced that he had so little to summarise and share at this juncture of his life. 

Book Review : The World Outside My Window

Title : The World Outside My Window

Author : Ruskin Bond

Publisher : Rupa

ISBN : 978-81-291-4179-8

No one does it better than Ruskin Bond - yes, here I am talking about the way he discusses and writes about nature. His knowledge about insects, birds, trees and flowers is not acquired through any biology book rather this is what he has garnered over the years by being an inseparable component of nature. 'The World Outside My Window' is yet another of his creations which actually opens a small window for the readers into the world that he enjoys to be a part of.

Through different sections on small insects, winged creatures and flora, he delightfully explains their unique characteristics and his personal interaction with some of them. One can find some lifecycles, adaptations, singing notes, viciousness, tenderness and much more in this book. A great book for students as a convenient guide for easily noticeable living creatures. A wonderful gift to those who love to understand the language that nature converses in.

The essence of his writing is beautifully conveyed through the concluding verse 'All is Life'.

Whether by accident or design,

We are here,

Let's make the most of it, my friend.

Make happiness our pursuit,

Spread a little sunshine here and there.

Enjoy the flowers, the breeze,

Rivers, sea and sky,

Mountains and tall waving trees.

Greet the children passing by,

Talk to the old folk. Be kind, my friend.

Hold on, in times of pain and strife:

Until death comes, all is life.

After reading his books on nature, many things cross one's mind - how most of us lead our lives unaware of so many of the living creatures that co-exist with us in the same domain; how the author is blessed with an eye, a heart and a pen to notice-acknowledge-appreciate-chronicle his connection with flora and fauna; and how his writings work wonderfully in alluring the readers towards natural environs.

Personally I enjoy reading Ruskin Bond is an understatement because his description of nature strums those chords deep inside me which rejoice with the rhythm that the divine musician creates.

Available on Amazon

Book Review : A Book of Simple Living

Title : A Book of Simple Living

Author : Ruskin Bond

Publisher : Speaking Tiger

'The cosmos has all the genius of simplicity.'

Start reading first paragraph and one embarks on a journey into a world where time is no longer a constraining factor and where nature guides everything. Ruskin Bond offers a small peak into his routine and one gets to see the beauty in the simplicity of life. The way he describes his room and the window which opens into three different worlds - the mountains, the sky and the road - is fascinating. At least for the time when one is reading his words, one  gets transported to the same room amidst the same surroundings  - the never changing hills, the full of movement road and the author's preferred view, the sky. He feels the sky is never the same, it is always filled with beautiful hues from the divine palette.

As the much acclaimed author pays befitting tribute to nature, he subtly conjures the readers to acknowledge the presence of co-inhabitants of our mother earth, admiring their uniqueness and paying obeisance to the natural scheme of things. He shows us the side of the world and life which in the fast time-bound schedules, we are fast losing touch with. He talks about various flora and fauna that fill his life with colour, fragrance, music and liveliness. He has ample time - to listen to every natural sound, to drink in the scent of wild flowers and leaves and to observe tiny creatures minding their business.

'Live close to nature and your spirit will not be easily broken, for you learn something of patience and resilience. You will not grow restless and you will never feel lonely.'

He then talks about various other things, vicissitudes of life, his love and longing, his writings, how a new topic comes knocking at his door or through his window, the reassurance that one looks for at certain times and many memorable moments spent in the lap of nature. The narrative is abound with characters like cicadas, magpies, field mice, spiders, swallows, maidenhair fern, geraniums, marigolds, chrysanthemums, pines, oaks, walnut trees, tall deodars, maple, chestnut and many more names. There is a background score in the narrative which is sometimes bubbling mountain river, orchestra of crickets or rustling of leaves. The landscape keeps changing colours from pristine snow white, verdant green to riot of fall colours.

The simplicity of his life, his writing is just fascinating and one needs to read it to feel it, because he writes to connect. In his words, 'I want my readers to feel what I feel, to see what I see, and big words and big sentences come in the way of this sharing. It is clarity and honesty that I am striving to attain; there can be no lasting connection with my readers without these. And to be clear and open is to be simple.'

The reason why I cannot stop admiring the book is because it somehow aligns with my own feelings when I am close to nature. In the written words, I could actually read some of my own feelings that nature sparks

in me. While I get immersed in my daily routine, I often dream and long for - being in a wide open expanse of land adorned with verdure  or walking on a narrow pathway guarded by thick trees with huge canopies or driving on a thin serpentine road merging into the folds of mighty mountains or gazing at the endlessly stretched firmament to my heart's content or watching raindrops fall on the ground willingly accepting their new identity in unison with other companions. Just the thought of these bring in a deep sense of peace, perspective and a connection with someone supreme in every single entity.

Don’t let the beauty of the nature pass by unnoticed, unacknowledged and unregistered because it is the simplest and purest form of beauty. Let it tickle every sensory nerve of one's being. 

Book Review : The Parrot Who Wouldn't Talk

Title : The Parrot who wouldn't Talk

Author : Ruskin Bond

Publisher : Penguin India

ISBN : 978-0-14-333068-4

The more I read Ruskin Bond, the more I admire his writing style. I love how he feels the need to record the details which may seem insignificant but work wonderfully in painting the picture perfectly in front of readers' eyes. I guess this is the reason, readers just want to get transported to the lovely world of Ruskin the way R.K. Narayan invoked similar feelings for Malgudi. Who doesn't want to be a part of Swami's world where innocence and simplicity still rule? Ruskin Bond is not India's best-loved children's writer for nothing.

The Parrot Who Wouldn't Talk  is a collection of heart warming short stories weaved around some of his friends and relatives. As he says, "I think everyone has at least one eccentric aunt or uncle in the family. I had more than one. My boyhood days were enlivened by their presence. Strong, unforgettable characters, all of them. I hope you'll enjoy their antics - and mind too!"

He writes about his grandfather who had an uncanny faculty of studying the habits and characteristics of people around him and disguising himself as one of them. Thus he enjoyed getting the 'feel' of someone else's occupation and lifestyle, be it a street-vendor, a carpenter or even a beggar. Uncle Ken happens to be just the person who is sought after by trouble itself. It is interesting how he managed to put Ruskin(when he was nine or ten years old) on a wrong train all by himself. Ruskin goes on to share his experiences as a boy scout when he earned the cookery badge for himself and did end up creating an innovative delectable all-Indian sweet-and-sour jam-potato curry.

There are more stories around Mr. Ghosh, Aunt Ruby, Uncle Ken and Mr. Oliver with Ruskin's signature style beautifully adorned with humor making this book a permanent among the personal collection.

Book Review : A Flight Of Pigeons

Title : A Flight of Pigeons

Author : Ruskin Bond

Publisher : Puffin

ISBN : 0-6700-4927-1

War never has made sense to ordinary individuals

Though a very simple sentence formed using very simple words, yet it is brimming with so much sense. Power changes hands, rulers come and go, boundaries expand and shrink but how do all these things impact an ordinary individual? The common people may not face the bare swords, or the arrows may not be pointed at them directly or they may not be the target of many bullets but they are the ones who get hurt which may not be visible apparently. They end up enduring the loss of their loved ones, their happiness and then getting on with humungous task of rebuilding the lives from ground zero.

I feel 'A Flight of Pigeons' is Ruskin Bond's tribute to these mute sufferers, immaterial of the class, community, religion or nationality they belong to. 

'A Flight of Pigeons' is a historical fiction which may be based on true events, as the writer points out. Set against the backdrop of 1857 uprising in Shahjahanpur, it is actually a narration of how events unfolded from the eyes and through the voice of Ruth Labadoor, a thirteen year old British girl. Perspectives change when sides switch. What Indians call as their first freedom struggle or uprising is termed as revolt in British lexicon.

Ruth witnesses the massacre of British civilians in the church and his father happens to be one of the victims there.  She along with her mother Miriam, grandmother, aunt and cousins take refuge in kind-hearted Lala Ramjilal's house. But besotted by the looks of Ruth, Javed Khan forcibly brings her and her mother to his house with the sole motive of convincing Miriam to make Ruth his second wife.

Javed Khan comes across as a person who is passionate and desperate to make his desires a reality but sensible enough to wait for willing acceptance of the same by Ruth's mother. Miriam being a very intelligent, wise, confident and strong-willed woman, brings Javed Khan around by striking a deal with him that the future of Delhi should decide the future of this alliance. The status quo goes on for almost a year and a few months.

Miriam and Ruth's luxurious locks, polite speech, dexterous needlework and affable nature win them many women admirers and supporters. Though surrounded by some very sympathetic women, they underwent long period of constant fear and dread of being in the midst of danger every single moment of their stay there. As we all know, British ruled over India for almost nine decades more after this uprising was successfully overpowered by them. So the long patient wait of Ruth and her family members did end eventually and they did get to lead a normal life.

Being a Ruskin Bond's creation, 'A Flight of Pigeon' beautifully lives up to the high levels of sensitivity and insightful portrayal that this story demanded. An extraordinary piece of writing bringing out the saga of survival of women who took refuge in hostile situation but their wit, grit and patience led them to the light beyond the dark tunnel.

I began this review with Ruskin Bond's words and would like to end it with another set of his words from the book - In times of conflict and inter-religious or racial hatred, there are always a few (just a few) who are prepared to come to the aid of those unable to defend themselves. 

Book Review : The India I Love

Title : The India I Love

Author : Ruskin Bond

Publisher : Rupa 

ISBN : 81-291-0397-4

Ruskin Bond mesmerizes his readers yet again through his straight from the heart collection of prose and poems. This is his way of expressing his feelings for his beloved adopted country with all her animate and inanimate beings, their uniqueness, their character and how all these combine to create a unique flavour of Indian-ness.

In some chapters, he reminisces about his earlier days, the time when he decided to make India and specifically her hills his home and leave West for good. In his words, "The link with Britain was tenuous, based on heredity rather than upbringing.  It was more in the mind. It was a literary England that I had been drawn to, not a physical England. " 

He talks about the mountains and hills, rivers and its tributaries, various people and their idiosyncrasies.

He sprinkles the chapters with some nuggets of wisdom that he has processed over the years by observing people and his surroundings keenly.

"A well-balanced person : someone with a chip on both shoulders

Experience : The knowledge that enables you to recognise a mistake when you make it the second time

Sympathy : What one woman offers another in exchange for details

Worry : The interest paid on trouble before it becomes due"

His adroitness to write about himself with utmost sincerity and transparency becomes apparent time and again by the ease with which he packs self-mockery in his writings. His honesty and humility reach out to the readers unadulterated as he cloaks his feelings in simple yet effective language.  A slice of his humility and critical analysis of himself get reflected in these lines -

"I am not the most inventive of writers, and fantastical plots are beyond me. My forte is observation, recollection and reflection. "

Ruskin Bond's writings are so true to the soil of this country in its original form, it clearly displays his sensitivity in observing, experiencing, absorbing, imbibing and processing the Indian-ness in his system and what comes out through his pen is the essence of his relationship with the country and with everything belonging to it. 

The peace and serenity in his writings transport the readers to a blissful state of living the life in its entirety with every single moment registering its presence and with every single thing getting observed, acknowledged and appreciated in the same way as Ruskin Bond does on his solitary walks.

"I prefer walking alone to walking with others. That ladybird on the wild rose would escape my attention if I was engaged in a lively conversation with a companion. Not that the ladybird is going to change my life. But by acknowledging its presence, stopping to admire its beauty, I have paid obeisance to the natural scheme of things of which I am only a small part."

Whenever I get a chance to conduct interviews with the authors, I often ask them for their suggestions to the aspiring/budding authors. But without having directly asked Ruskin Bond, I got the answer from him in this book -

"If you, dear reader, have any ambitions to be a writer, you must first rid yourself of any notion that perfect peace and quiet is the first requirement. There is no such thing as perfect peace and quiet except perhaps in a monastery or a cave in the mountains. And what would you write about, living in a cave? One should be able to write in a train, a bus, a bullock-cart, in good weather or bad, on a park bench or in the middle of a noisy classroom.

While I was editing this review, I noticed that I have used so many of his quotes directly here. This clearly shows that no words are worthy enough to carry the essence of his writings and they are best as they are. 

Book Review : Mr. Oliver's Diary

'Mr. Oliver's Diary' is one of the six shortlisted books under Children's section

Title : Mr. Oliver's Diary

Author : Ruskin Bond

Publisher : Penguin Books India

ISBN : 9780143331148

Ruskin Bond needs no introduction. With over 30 children's titles to his credit, he is one of the accomplished champions of the art of writing. He has created a magic in the form of 'Mr. Oliver's Diary' yet again with a very amiable history teacher Mr. Christopher Oliver who arrives in Shimla with more than 100 hungry boys to start a new school term at the Prep School (Classes I - VI).

It so turns out that other than taking his regular classes, Mr. oliver becomes a panacea for all ills and is called by the headmaster for almost all types of problems whether it is the case of fire in the premises, case of sleepwalking student, crisis of a couple of runaway students, invasion of frogs, taking up the challenge of boxing or principal getting locked-in at his own house.

Though not a dashingly handsome personality, Mr. Oliver is blessed with a heart of gold and is a lovable character who manages to share a very special bond with his students.

The hilarious moments with the antics of his parrot who only likes to screech 'Bottoms up' , his wig getting out of its designated position on more than one occasions and many comical instances make it a very funny diary indeed. Since it is a diary so Mr. Oliver sincerely pours his heart out even about the secret admiration that he harbors for Ms. Anjali Ramola, a co-teacher.

Ruskin Bond's refined sense of humour is evident in his writing throughout the narrative. We also get to see glimpses of changing colours of nature as the days and months pass by one after another and the mention of the same finds a place in this chronicle which I found really very intelligent way of involving the readers into the proceedings.

A book well deserved to be among the six short listed books of 2010 under Children's category.

A Brief About The Vodafone Crossword Book Awards:

Exclusively Indian, inclusive in every other sense, the Vodafone Crossword Book

Award brings together the entire literary community – readers, authors, booksellers & publishers – like no other awards.

These are your awards - join us in celebrating Indian writing.

The Vodafone Crossword Book Award is one of the most prestigious and popular literary prizes in India that not only recognizes and rewards the best of Indian writing but also actively promotes the authors and their books.

The Vodafone Crossword Book Awards are given out in the following categories:

1. Vodafone Crossword Fiction Award.

2. Vodafone Crossword Non-Fiction Award.

3. Vodafone Crossword Translation Award.

4. Vodafone Crossword Children’s Award.

5. Vodafone Crossword Popular Award.

Click here to know more about the awards.