Ruskin Bond is a famous name among children and adults alike. With his vivid imagination, he coloured everyone’s childhood. Bond with his very first novel, ‘The room on the Roof’, created a lasting impact on his readers.
His stories keep almost everyone hooked to books. Be it a short story or a novel, you know it is going to be a funny-scary ride when the cover says ‘Ruskin Bond.’
On his 83rd birthday today, TNM brings you some childhood nostalgia - a list of stories that you must have read as a student in school, stories that perhaps motivated many of us to read more and more.
The Night train at Deoli
The story is about adolescent infatuation presented with utmost sensitivity. On his way to Dehradun the train halts at a small station called Deoli. The narrator for the first time experiences the feeling of love with a woman who was selling baskets at that station. Those brief moments were enough for the narrator to feel the pain of not seeing the woman’s face again as the train leaves the platform.
The Pret in the house
The story is about a ‘pret’, a poltergeist who pulls tricks on the members of a family and makes them shift from the house. However, pret goes along with them wherever they go. The writing style of Ruskin Bond puts life in the character of the ghost here. Pret’s character makes the readers think of him more as a child and less of a ghost.
The woman on platform 8
The story is about a young boy, Arun, who found a mother figure in a complete stranger on platform 8 at the Ambala station.
Masterji
The story is in first person and is about a strange encounter between a student and his teacher, Mr Khushal, after twenty years. The situation in the story gives the reader a good laugh and puts us through the regular and comical relationship between a student and his teacher.
Goodbye, Miss Mackenzie
The life of an elderly spinster is depicted in this story. Lonely old Miss Mackenzie occupies herself by gardening every day. It’s when she meets Anil, a little Indian boy, that they bond through their love for botany. As Anil leaves for his vacation back home, loneliness creeps back into Miss Mackenzie’s house and as the winter wind blows, it puts her at rest.