Ruskin Bond- Stories of Wisdom

by Ruskin Bond

64 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Bhavya (semi-offline) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruskin Bond- Stories of Wisdom is a book with two short stories, 'Dust on the Mountain' and 'Wild Fruit'.

I will review both of the stories separately, though my overall rating for the book is 5 stars.


Dust on the Mountain

“How tiny we are,” thought Binsu, looking up at the towering peaks and immensity of the sky. “Each one of us is no more than a raindrop...”

Binsu lives with his family in a remote hills, but due to a dry summer no crops are grown, and thus he sets out for the city in search of a job. He soon realizes that the city is different from his loving village. Where will Binsu's fate take him?

“Then, waving goodbye to his mother and sister, he set off down the road from the village.”

This is a simple story, with nothing extravagant language wise, yet it is a beautiful tale. Like all of Ruskin Bond's books, it send a message.

“Why are there no trees here?” he asked aloud.

This story was well written, and one thing I loved about it the most was the accurate portrayal of India and its culture.

“The hill station, with all its glitter, was just a pretty gift box with nothing inside.”

I would definitely recommend this story.

“He thought of the trees at home-the walnut, the chestnuts, the pines-and wondered of one day they would suffer the same fate, and whether the mountains would become a desert like this particular range. No trees, no grass, no water-only the chocking dust of mines and quarries.”

Wild Fruit

“It was a long walk to school. Down the hill, through the rhododendron trees and across a small stream, around a bare, brown hill, and then through the narrow little bazaar, past fruit stalls piled high with oranges, guavas, bananas, and apples.”

Vijay longs for the juicy fruit and tasty confectioneries at the shops in town. One day, a rich boy follows Vijay with a bag of sweets and a kind smile. Will a rich boy's generosity give Vijay a chance to finally taste these sweets?

“But these were forbidden fruit. The boy hadn’t had the money for them.”

This story, unlike the previous one is in a much sadder tone. There isn't anything outstanding about it, but I feel it is the kind that leaves an ache in the heart. I recommend this one as well.

“There were patches of snow on the ground. The grass was a dirty brown, the bushes were bare. There was no wild fruit in November.”

Overall, I think this was a great read, and everyone will enjoy these stories regardless of your age. However, I would say these stories are best suited between 6-12 years.


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Pre- review

5 stars

How can I rate Ruskin bond any less?

Review to come in a while.

[Ekta Kubba · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you find yourself getting lost in a story, and keep wishing for it to never end, nothing can be better than that. This is usually the case with Ruskin Bond's stories. Writing about his stories is like showing candle to the Sun. But l can't help it. What fun it is when you have a bunch of like-minded people to share you feelings with! It doubles your happiness that you've found after reading the story.

This book has two wonderful and engrossing stories. The best thing is that these stories come with strong messages of wisdom. Mr. Bond tells about the life of hill folks in his stories, and the hardships, they go through, due to tough conditions of their surroundings. The changing weather conditions, mainly due to deforestation, has affected them a lot, and it has made, earning the necessities of life, tough for them. The hills where once there was snow, are now facing forest fires, lessened rains, deforestation and polluted air. Living in these changing conditions, and longing for the good bygone times is heartbreaking sometimes. Mr. Bond has wonderfully created a story out of these conditions that can help the kids understand the worsening conditions of hills, and can create wisdom to being a part in positive progress, that wouldn't harm the Nature. My favourite line from the book is,

"It is better to grow things on the land than to blast things out of it."

Another wonderful thing about Ruskin sir's writing is the way he fits birds, trees and other natural beings and objects in every story, where it is not needed actually, but it makes the story so amazing that you feel mesmerized. There's one such reference in one of the stories from this book,

"A rock lizard popped its head out of a crevice to look at the intruders. Then, like some prehistoric survivor, it scuttled back into its underground shelter."

What more can I say! I fall more in love with this man's work the more I read his books. I wish he always keep writing and my heart keep getting more bigger with the happiness I gain from reading his words.

[Shraddha Deo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good book for children.
In this book there are not that many chapters. There are only 2 chapters, which is perfect for readers who don't like long books and chapters which feel like they don't end.
The first chapter is a little long, but the second one is not that long.
Therefore, you all should take a sit and read this book right now!!!

[Srinivasan Nanduri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good one. As with other short story books from Ruskin Bond, the book does well taking us back to the villages and the lives in villages that are so much dependent on rains and weather overall. Though the short story in the final 10 pages or so is not much fascinating, the rest of the book is.

[Jharana Pujahari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both the stories Dust on the Mountains and
Wild Fruit are beautiful in their own way. The first story reflects the writer concern for environment and beauty of hills and trees which is deteriorating because of the mines, blast and the owner' wish to earn money from that.

[Saurabh Kumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Making the mundane marvellous. That’s Ruskin Bond for you.

[Rahul Rawat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goof

[Sonali · Rating 2 out of 5]

Books for kids, there were 2 stories. First story was nice , second story was not that good

[Adithi Nagendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit boring for the first few pages but very nice

[Suvrajit Borah · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was so good and I have re readed this book like 3 times