Lone Fox Dancing. By: Ruskin Bond

Time spent reading: 10 Hours .

Because of the late start that I had to my reading life. I discovered Ruskin Bond not through a recommendation but through an interview on TV. The news crew was interviewing someone in a simple red sweater and introduced him as a writer who has stayed up in the hills all his life. I looked him up and decided to straight away get to know the man himself through his biography than read some of his made-up stories. It was a very nice read and I liked to have met Ruskin.

"It's good to be in one place for a certain length of time, in order to savour the passing seasons, the comings and goings of people, and above all, to watch the children grow up" Ruskin Bond

Short Summary

The story of Ruskin Bind begins in the mountains with a dream where he takes with him to his earliest memories that of him and his family in the small princely state of Jamnagar by the seaside. Here we are introduced to the small little idyllic world of little Ruskin, he introduces us to his father, mother and his ayya and cook who according to him were his first introduction to storytelling. From Jamnagar the Bonds had to move to his grannie’s house in Dehra when his father decided to quit his existing job and later Ruskin moves in to live with his Father for a few months. During this time his parents are separated, and Ruskin is more than happy to be with his Daddy. The time he spends with his father at their Delhi house is very special to Ruskin. His father then working for the Royal Air Force take young Ruskin to his school in Shimla. Here Ruskin develops his first friends. His father falls ill and succumbs to a premature death. The loss of his Daddy leave Ruskin Shattered to bits, he is all alone far away, with no family, living with strangers and ‘The only person who ever loved him’ had passed away.

Ruskin further takes us through his journey from his good and bad experiences at his boarding schools, his winter vacation in Dehra and to his broken family with whom he does not really fit. After finishing his school studies, owing partly to their financial status and partly to the limited options that were available in those days he decided not pursue further education but instead decided to become a writer. He was good at it, he had already written a few things and won awards for his writing. Here starts the struggle of a young writer first trying to write and secondly finding someone who will publish the work. He writes about his troubles at home and his struggles to make a living as a writer in those times. He writes a book living in one their home title ‘Room on the roof’ inspired by his room in the house and the adventure of his friends. Ruskin moves to England to get published and after 4 years of struggle the longing for home bring him back to India and the hills that loved so much.

In the final section he writes about losing his restlessness and taking a gamble by living in the sleepy hill side town of Mussorie near a very familiar path that he took as a kids was the best decision he ever made. The book is filled with the stories of how he came up with his books, novels, poems etc the exact movement or the inspiration behind them. Surrounded by hills, greenery, trees, birds, mist, rain, wild cats, a occasional visiting eccentric friend and an adopted family that sort of grew around him. He admits about being technologically backward and not accepting to use a computer of even a mobile phone. There are several anecdotes and funny little stories that go in the book.

My Review

If you are reading this review on your phone or laptop, please sit near an open window or sneak a look at the trees outside because you cannot complete or read a Ruskin Bond story without appreciating nature. The pace of the story is set right at the beginning of the book with the introductions, its nice and relaxed, soulful, nothing path-breaking or revolutionary happens, and it is ok for it to be that way. I would encourage you as a reader to sit with a notepad and a pencil while reading the book. It is a treasure trove of references to good music, good books and other reading materials as well as local flora and fauna. You can also follow his journey as a writer for at many places he mentions the various incidents that have inspired some of his stories and novels.

The exceptional quality of the writing I found was how wonderfully well portrays the mundane and daily routines of our day to day live for eg: "it's good to be in one place for a certain length of time, in order to savour the passing seasons, the comings and goings of people, and above all, to watch the children grow up". Such a pleasant way to putting such a powerful though across. The graph of the story is also very rhythmic and the story moves in a liner manner, though the events mentioned are not always chronological you don’t have to turn the pages back and forth to get a hang of the story. This is not the story of a world conquering adventurer or man-eating war general. This is about a man who is still a boy at heart and who loves taking walks in the hilly wood s of Massurie and Dera. With nowhere to go and in no hurry to get there. The narrative is pleasant and the writing splendid. There is also a true account of the real life of a writer, the hardships, the challenges, the uncertainties all of which come along with the job. About the awards and the financial stability that came very late in his life he writes “I guess if you keep doing something for 50 years people will take notice”

Through out the book he presents such a unique rendition of the ‘stop and smell the pine trees’ concept that you are compelled to give it a though. At the end of the book you realise that you have not just met a personality or a brilliant author but also a sweet genuine person. You miss his friends when they are separated and you are happy and content when he find and adopts a family in his later years

A special mention about two pieces of writing that leave the hair on my whole body standing whenever I think of them (1) When a young Ruskin is given the news of his fathers untimely death her writes and I quote from memory “The bottom has fallen off my world, the only person that I loved and the only one who loved me was no more” (2) When he traveled back home for the first time after his father death and there was no one at the station to receive him and he had not address to go to “They had forgotten that I was going to come today. I expected that, the only person who every made time for me had gone away for ever” : Both of these came before he was 9 years of age.