Author Ruskin Bond pays tribute to his beloved India in his latest book – The New Indian Express
NEW DELHI: Drawing on his own memories and impressions of India, famed author Ruskin Bond in his latest book, ‘A Little Book of India: Celebrating 75 years of Independence’, pays homage to the country that was his homeland for 84 years.
The book, an amalgamation of India’s “physical and spiritual” attributes, promises to take readers on a journey filled with nostalgia and devotion.
It is published by Penguin Random House India (PRHI).
“This little book does not purport to be a political or historical analysis of events, although I have dwelt on the highlights of the past 75 years of India’s progression to maturity as a nation. It is an account rendering of some of my memories and impressions of this unique land – of its rivers and forests, of its literature and culture, of its sights, sounds and colors – an amalgamation of the physical and the spiritual”, wrote the 87-year-old author in the introduction to the book.
Bond, who has spent 84 years of his life in the country, said he felt justified in celebrating 75 years of Indian independence with millions of his fellow citizens.
“We celebrate our freedom in different ways. I celebrate it with the written word,” he added.
Born in Kasauli (Himachal Pradesh) and raised in Jamnagar, Dehradun, New Delhi and Shimla, Bond is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award, Sahitya Akademi’s Sahitya Puraskar Ball, Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, among other prestigious awards. His first novel, “The Room on the Roof”, written when he was 17, received the “John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize” in 1957.
Since then he has written a number of novels, essays, poems and children’s books.
He has also written over 500 short stories and articles for magazines and anthologies.
Commenting on the small but ‘great book’, Premanka Goswami, associate editor at PRHI, said she felt ‘privileged’ to publish the latest work by the famous children’s author.
“From its landscape to its people, culture, flora and fauna, among others, through this small but great book, Ruskin Bond pays tribute to his beloved India on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of its independence. We feel privileged to publish this work,” Goswami told PTI.
The book, priced at Rs 250, is currently available for sale in online and offline stores.
