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The Blue Umbrella

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'The umbrella was like a flower, a great blue flower that had sprung up on the dry brown hillside.'

In exchange for her lucky leopard's claw pendant, Binya acquires a beautiful blue umbrella that makes her the envy of everyone in the village, especially Ram Bharosa, the shopkeeper. It is the prettiest umbrella in the whole village and she carries it everywhere she goes.

The Blue Umbrella is a short and humorous novella set in the hills of Garhwal. Written in simple yet witty language, it captures life in a village - where ordinary characters become heroic, and others find opportunities to redeem themselves.

83 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

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About the author

Ruskin Bond

672 books3,519 followers
Ruskin Bond is an Indian author of British descent. He is considered to be an icon among Indian writers and children's authors and a top novelist. He wrote his first novel, The Room on the Roof, when he was seventeen which won John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in 1957. Since then he has written several novellas, over 500 short stories, as well as various essays and poems, all of which have established him as one of the best-loved and most admired chroniclers of contemporary India. In 1992 he received the Sahitya Akademi award for English writing, for his short stories collection, "Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra", by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters in India. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 for contributions to children's literature. He now lives with his adopted family in Landour near Mussoorie.

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5 stars
6,049 (46%)
4 stars
4,851 (37%)
3 stars
1,719 (13%)
2 stars
257 (1%)
1 star
175 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,413 reviews
Profile Image for Niharika.
57 reviews31 followers
January 16, 2020
I got the book from Ruskin bond himself.. Autographed.. On its launch in dehradoon. I was 11 then..I teasured it ..still do. The book is simply realistic and set in the place i was grown up.
Profile Image for B .
654 reviews937 followers
February 13, 2022
“The umbrella was like a flower, a great blue flower that had sprung up on the dry brown hillside"


~ Rating- 5 stars ~

The Blue Umbrella is a short story about a girl Binya who manages to trade her leopard claw for a beautiful blue silk umbrella. The umbrella is the prettiest in the village and the whole village envies Binya for having.

This book is set in the hills of Garhwal and being Indian myself, it was very interesting to read about the atmosphere and Indian culture.

At first I had rated this 4 stars, but then I realized there was no reason for me to rate it lower so its a 5 star now!

This is extremely short to write a proper review, but I enjoyed every bit of this book. I’ve always loved Ruskin Bond’s work, and this book was no exception.

There is also a simple message about being kind to others and not being jealous. Would highly recommend the book, especially for Indians.

Review written in January 2021.

DISCLAIMER- All opinions on books I’ve read and reviewed are my own, and are with no intention to offend anyone. If you feel offended by my reviews, let me know how I can fix it.

How I Rate-
1 star- Hardly liked anything/ was disappointed
2 star- Had potential but did not deliver/ was disappointed
3 stars- Was ok but could have been better/ was average / Enjoyed a lot but something was missing
4 stars- Loved a lot but something was missing
5 stars- Loved it/ new favourite
Profile Image for Thibault Busschots.
Author 5 books200 followers
August 13, 2023
A poor young little girl who lives in the mountains comes across a tourist and trades her lucky charm, a leopard claw necklace, for a beautiful blue umbrella. She goes all over town, flaunting her new umbrella that’s undoubtedly worth some money. It’s clear everyone envies her. One tea shop owner in particular is very interested in it. He’s the richest man in town. He wants that umbrella. And there’s nothing he won’t do to get his greedy hands on it.


It’s a fairly short, simple and straight forward children’s story where greed is punished and kindness is rewarded. But its beauty lies in its simplicity. The story wholeheartedly embraces its theme, which makes this a very charming and easy to read story. And the rural village in the mountains is also quite a nice and soothing setting that manages to elevate the reading experience as a whole.
Profile Image for daph pink ♡ .
1,270 reviews3,253 followers
October 6, 2021
A famous ethical short story that, despite its simplicity, reaches the essence of human ideals, namely kindness, and instils in adults a sense of affection.

( One line reviews are very hard to write...)
Profile Image for Krish.
17 reviews4 followers
May 18, 2014
I finished this book very quickly, opened goodreads.com thought about it for a few minutes and gave it a rating 3. (Day over)

The next day, when I woke up, there was a longing, some urge to be in a place which clearly seemed to be like Binya's surrounding in the book. I've had this feeling of re-living the reading experience very few times and this is one of those times.

It's a kid's book, but a lot of human behavior is described plainly. How a little girl becomes the better person by giving up her prized posession is a wonderfully crafted, heart warming climax.

I couldn't live with giving a three star rating for this book. I changed my mind.
Profile Image for Swati Tanu.
Author 1 book614 followers
June 13, 2024
"But had she loved the umbrella too much? Had it mattered more to her than people matter?"

The author's straightforward writing style appealed to me. Binya's idyllic village life exploring the hillside. Her bravery, kindness, and fondness for the umbrella are all examples of her character. The children are tackling regular duties and assisting their mother. The Garhwal hills' dramatic situations and beautification are all well-crafted. With this fictional work, children will learn to be kind and compassionate.

The Blue Umbrella is a brief and sweet story about generosity and humanity. An umbrella, as Bina points out, is not everything. This demonstrates her delicacy and humility. This act of hers opens the old shopkeeper's heart, allowing positivity to seep in. In short, this charming story is a mix of heroism and redemption.

I just love Ruskin Bond's books because he connects me instantly with the best days of my life. I am sure this beautiful novella will touch a chord not only with young readers but also with all adults.

You might like to check out more similar books here.
Profile Image for Ankit Garg.
250 reviews404 followers
December 4, 2019
A short story written in simple English teaching the lesson of sharing and empathy. Perfect for beginner readers.
72 reviews596 followers
July 11, 2022
"No-Spoiler Alert"

For someone like me, who belongs to the Doon Valley, Ruskin Bond is a childhood favorite. But the Victorian Era authors transcended him during my formative years.

Blue Umbrella's protagonist Biniya, a cowherd, leading the tedious life in her village, on her way back home stumbles upon a blue-umbrella, which defines her vanity in the rest of the book. She trades her lucky necklace for the blue umbrella, which has charmed her senses. She is eating, breathing, drinking, in short living the blue umbrella. Trading her long-possessed lucky charm wasn't an act of valor for her.

The narrative includes the episodes of her on the verge of losing the blue umbrella, once in a deep slumber on the meadows and the umbrella scudded away by the forceful gust of wind into the chasm. She heroically, rescues it. Though, torn and washed away in luster, still the umbrella is a possession of pride in the entire village. A priced possession of her vanity.

As this review doesn't include spoilers, this story is about the fight of pride between the shopkeeper and Biniya. A shopkeeper who equally desires to own the umbrella with same fervor. He stoops down to level unimaginable to own it. Finally the story reveals itself into a moral scruple taking an unexpected turn between the shopkeeper and Biniya.

It belongs to the same sweet and short tenor of the Ruskin Bond short stories, and is a must-read for once, to take a virtual tour to the mountains.

I personally give 3 stars to Blue umbrella and was a one-time read for me.
Profile Image for Avani ✨.
1,892 reviews445 followers
December 19, 2021
The Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond is a short and humorous novella set in the hills of Garhwal. Written in simple yet witty language, it captures life in a village - where ordinary characters become heroic, and others find opportunities to redeem themselves.

We see a small girl named Binya, who in exchange of her leopard's claw pendant gets a blue umbrella when she goes to the town. She wants to make everyone jealous and envy of her umbrella since it's one of the prettiest in the village anyone has seen. Binya as a character is full of simplicity and humanity.

She especially wants to make Ram Bharosa, the shopkeeper jealous of her umbrella. The story is very sweet and children should read and learn the moral from this book. In the end ram Bharosa and Binya end up on good terms with each other is what was beautiful and very sweet to witness.
Profile Image for Arunimaa.
229 reviews223 followers
February 1, 2021
A simple yet adorable story with truly captivating imagery. I loved reading about the natural and refreshing beauty of Garhwal, Himalayas from Binya's perspective. I marked this book for my Popsugar Reading Challenge 2021 for the prompt "A book set in a place you would like to visit in 2021". Considering how all of us have been cooped up in our houses for one entire year, Garhwal and Binya's village really did sound like someplace that would be a wonderful change.
Profile Image for Reading_ Tamishly.
5,287 reviews3,417 followers
August 21, 2021
This isn't a book. It's a short story which the author has included in many if his short story collections. I don't see the point of this book.
Profile Image for Ësrât .
511 reviews82 followers
June 11, 2021
হিমালয়ের কোলঘেঁষা গাঁয়ের এক মিষ্টি মেয়ে আর তার নীল রঙের ফুলের মতো রমনীয় ছাতার মনকাড়া গল্প।

রেটিং: 🌠🌠🌠🌠
Profile Image for Indrani Sen.
388 reviews61 followers
February 4, 2017
A lovely little story with very believable, very identifiable characters. And the end - the very best possible. I have not read a lot of Ruskin Bond. Would be reading a lot more soon.
Profile Image for Shuk Pakhi.
502 reviews287 followers
June 11, 2021
আমার নিজের মালিকানায় পাওয়া প্রথম ছাতাটা ছিল হালকা নীলের ওপরে গুদিগুদি সাদাফুলের ছাপ দেয়া অথবা সাদার ওপরে গুদিগুদি নীলফুলের ছাপ দেয়া। কিছুতেই নীল সাদা আলাদা করে মনে করতে পারছি না। যাহোক ছাতাখানা পয়লাদিন স্কুলে নিয়েই হারিয়ে ফেলেছিলাম। 😑

এবার বীনার নীলছাতার গল্পে আসি। হিমালয়ের ধারে ছোট্টগ্রামে সে তার মা আর ছোটভাইকে নিয়ে থাকে। এক পিকনিক পার্টি থেকে বীনা এই নীল সিল্কের ছাতাখানা পায়। পুরো গ্রামে আসলে তেমন কারো ছাতাই নেই তা আবার এমন সুন্দর নীলছাতার ত প্রশ্নই আসে না। বীনাকে দেখা যায় সকালে দুপুরে বিকেলে এমনকি সন্ধ্যায়ও ছাতা মাথায় দিয়ে ঘুরে বেড়াতে।

গ্রামের পূজারি পাশের শহরে যায় রঙিন ছাতা কিনতে কিন্তু ব্যর্থ হয়ে ফিরে আসে। মাস্টারমশায়ের স্ত্রী অমন রঙিন ছাতার দাবী নিয়ে হাজির হয় স্বামীর কাছে। গ্রামের সবাই কমবেশি ঈর্ষান্বিত হলেও মেনে না নিয়ে উপায় থাকে না। কিন্তু মেনে নেয় না শুধু একজন। গ্রামের দোকানদার। নানান ভাবে চেষ্টা চালাতে থাকে বীনার নীলছাতাখানা বাগানোর এবং প্রতিবারই ব্যর্থ হয়।

শেষতক কি বীনার শখের নীলছাতা থাকবে তার হাতে নাকি চলে যাবে অন্য কারো মালিকানায়?
সুন্দর ছোট কিউট একটা বই।
ইলাস্ট্রেশনগুলো সেইইইই সুন্দর। 😋
Profile Image for Piya.
252 reviews176 followers
April 23, 2021
I've always liked the way Ruskin Bond writes. Sweet, simple and about common everyday things. His books are a depiction of rare bravery displayed by ordinary characters, about small, beautiful things that happen in small villages set below the foothills of the Himalayas.

The Blue Umbrella is no exception. It's a very short book. It's actually a novella to be precise. Set in a hill village of Gahrwal near Tehri, this is a story of Binya and her beautiful blue umbrella.


"Now Binya had seen umbrellas before, and her mother had a big black umbrella which nobody used anymore because the field rats had eaten holes in it, but this was the first time Binya had seen such a small, dainty, colorful umbrella and she fell in love with it"


There isn't much to this story. A beautiful umbrella catches Binya's eye and she's so mesmerized by it that she's willing to trade her lucky leopard pendant for it. The villagers are all envious of Binya because of the rich blue color umbrella that she carries, but the most envious of them all is RamBharosa (the name literally means someone who can be trusted), the richest shopkeeper in the village.

The story works on themes of greed, contentment, and self-satisfaction and ends on a very happy note.
Profile Image for |\| € |_.
21 reviews19 followers
May 7, 2021
"The umbrella was like a flower, a great blue flower that had sprungon the dry brown hillside"

The umbrella. I couldn't imagin that a umbrella could bring out the evil side of people.
This book shows how a small little thing can cause greed, cruelty and envy inside people, It goes to show that how we should see from others point of view, how we should share, how we should be caring to people no matter how small, old, bad, poor or rich. Everybody needs kindness once in a while and this book proves it.
Ruskin Bond is a well known author, he has wriiten books/novels like the room on the roof, Vagrants in the valley, Flights of the pigeon etc. I've read few of his books and got different messages of life. He writes amazing essays and poems also, which i would reccomend to everyone.

This book is worthy of full 5 stars from my side.
Profile Image for Himanshu Karmacharya.
1,131 reviews113 followers
January 8, 2020
A short and simple, yet beautiful story revolving around a blue umbrella possessed by the protagonist. The villagers are mesmerized by the beauty of the umbrella and it gives rise to various emotions within the heart of the villagers, like greed and jealousy. The setting of the novella and the characters are written in a very realistic manner. So the readers have an easy time relating to everything and feel invested in the story from start to finish. The end of the story has been set perfectly and shows that doing positive things can overcome all the negative emotions growing up in the hearts of other people.

The Blue Umbrella is a quick but interesting read which is likely to elevate the mood of the readers because of the sweetness and positivity in the book.
Profile Image for Sheetal Maurya - Godse (Halo of Books) .
324 reviews31 followers
August 20, 2017
If I have to sum this book in one word then it would be 'beautiful'. Only Ruskin Bond can pen down such a touching story in few pages.

Binya is an ordinary girl from hills who have not seen any luxury in her life. One day, she meets picnickers and saw an alluring bright blue umbrella. Her love for the umbrella was instant and after the demand of picnickers, she exchanges her lucky charm over the blue umbrella.

This blue umbrella becomes the talk of the town. Some envied her, some feel happy for her. Overall, this umbrella brings various adventure in the life of Binya.

This book has a very good ending, which I have not expected and at this point, this book becomes a mature reading.

I am really touched by this book, I am so glad that I read this book. I am still lingering with the thoughts of this book.

This book can be finished in 20 minutes so if you have read this book yet then you should definitely pick it up.
Profile Image for Khyati Gautam.
874 reviews240 followers
June 13, 2019
A pretty little umbrella which is blue in color brings unbound happiness in Binya’s life. She carries it everywhere with so much love and affection. There is this old shopkeeper Ram Bharosa who is eyeing this prized possession of the young girl of Garhwal. He tries to have his way and get the umbrella under his paws. Would he be successful?

A simple and short story of kindness and humanity is The Blue Umbrella. In this classic novella, Ruskin paints a vivid image of Garhwal where the story is set. Binya exchanges her leopard’s claw pendant for the blue silk umbrella. And when she comes across the frenzied and despairing state of Ram Bharosa, she does the unimaginable. As she says that an umbrella is not everything. This displays her sensibility and humility. This act of hers opens the heart of the old shopkeeper and positivity flows in. In short, there is a mix of heroism and redemption in this sweet story which is an ideal read for kids but could be equally enjoyed by the adults.
Profile Image for Thedesibookthief .
134 reviews
November 13, 2020
This was one of the very first Ruskin Bond stories I'd read. I was 10 maybe 11 years old, and had quite recently been introduced to English story books. I remember instantly falling in love with the tale, its characters and more particularly the storyteller, Bond himself. I read and reread this story so many times and almost had it memorized. Bond's simple yet beautiful writing style had totally enraptured me back then and still continues to do so. I'll always have a soft spot for this one. :)
Profile Image for Harun Ahmed.
1,596 reviews404 followers
June 14, 2021
A small,delightful book full of innocence and compassion.I was smiling all along.
Profile Image for VerseVoyager.
46 reviews9 followers
May 20, 2021
' The umbrella was like a flower, a great blue flower that had sprung up on the dry brown hillside.'

This is a story of a girl named Binya and her blue umbrella ; set in the hills of Gharwal. Binya owned this pricey, royal, blue umbrella in exchange of her lucky leopard claw pendant. The umbrella was so graceful that everyone in the village admired it as well as were jealous of Binya who owned it.

Gradually, the 'Blue Umbrella' became the most beautiful umbrella in the village. Ram Bharosa (the shopkeeper) desired to get it in any way that was possible. Will he be able to get it? Or will he need to suffer due to his behavior?

A humorous, witty yet heart touching novella by Ruskin Bond.
Profile Image for Priya Arun.
156 reviews27 followers
December 6, 2024
The blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond is a short read.

The story whirls around Binya a 9 year old girl who lives in a village. She come across a blue umbrella which she wants to own it.
Will she have that umbrella? Is someone there who also wants to own it? What happens next lies the suspense of the story.

Ruskin Bond is an awesome author. I always admired his work, this is another master piece. The pacing of the story is precicse and intact. Language is kept simple and easy to read. I would recommend this book to young readers who loves reading.
Profile Image for Moitreyi.
9 reviews
June 8, 2012
I love this story....one of the reasons is that it is based on indians.....so when I read it I feel a bit similar to the characters.....their behaviour and the kind of fun they have together.....coz i have grown up in this place....so i know all this stuffs....
well,,...its a very sweet story....those who are Mr. Bond's fans......u must read this...its a short but yet nice story...
Profile Image for Dee.
447 reviews148 followers
January 5, 2023
What a lovely little story. This simple yet very effective tale of a little girls love of a blue umbrella and others desire for it is very rewarding.
It has a beautiful life lesson for young and old to enjoy
Profile Image for Anshita.
8 reviews3 followers
July 22, 2019
Mr Bond's short stories are so refreshing and they never disappoint you.
They're a complete mood changer!
His writing is simple and it easily connects to human emotions.

Looking forward to read more such beautiful stories :)
Happy reading!
Profile Image for Kru.
281 reviews74 followers
June 8, 2017
A very short story, simple story line. Meant for kids but nothing stops me from enjoying it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,413 reviews

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