There are times when one tends to feel life couldn’t get any better. Not just when something miraculous happens, which gives you an overwhelming sense of satisfaction, but also when this sudden surge of joy slowly engulfs your mind, puts a(sweet) smile on your face and makes your day better! Reading Ruskin, would do just that! To know how, read on.
*Simple is Beautiful:-
*The author’s language is simple.So simple and neat that you needn’t have to reach for the dictionary every 5th page. The straight-forwardness, brevity and clarity in his narration would make your mind slip into easy imagination and nostalgia. Most of his stories are narrated in the first person.Tiny snippets of wisdom are assured in every nook and corner of the book. The short stories/short novels are not heavily loaded with superlative language or complex stories with sudden twists and turns. Simple, yet powerful & impactful story-telling seems an arduous task, but looks like its a breeze for the author. Inspite of all this, the author calls himself "random rambler" . One could only say that he’s being modest and unassuming. His style though, is inimitable.
*The Book:-
*This book is a compilation of his short stories, poems, travelogues and extracts of some of his memorable novels. The author never misses a chance to praise the flora & fauna. One could never enjoy a fox dancing in the roadside in bright sunshine, BUT for his words/style of putting it.
*Love and Friendship:-
*Doesn’t love take different forms according to our chonological age? Love as a consequence of an astounding physique(which is not just sickening lust), mind-blowing ingenuity, or the pulsating hormones during the teen years.All this is common, but what about the unexplained love/affection that a child has towards his/her child-minder, a student has towards his teacher(something over & above the usual crush), the somewhat overtly obvious attachment towards the person you saw from the window of a train(so what if it was just for a spilt second). The author likens such brief sojourns of profound love/passion to a sailing ship in these lines:-
*"Another ship passing in the night, the friendly twinkle of the lights soon vanishing in the darkness!"
Decades may pass by, but when you close your eyes and think about them, either the tableau of the happenings or just the related memories lie deep down in the heart.
In this first part of the book "Love and Friendship" the author deals with this sensitive difficult-to-make-the-world understand relationships. Relationships with not just people but also with some of the things which might mean the WORLD to us, though it might be a trivial li’l thing for the WORLD.
*Tales of the Macabre:-
*The pace in the narration accelerates in the stories categorised under the heading stated above, There are a couple of ghost stories which though doesn’t send a shiver down the spine, ensures that the reader jolts from the seat. Other stories deal with abominable qualities like vengeance and greed towards colleagues/friends, which causes us to desert the humanness within us, for personal gains; And how conveniently we tend to even forget the wrong done! As the author puts it:-
"We remember, only what we want to remember".- This is one hard-hitting TRUE fact, which we seldom acknowledge!
*Essays and Vignettes:-
*Is there any way to serve our past? Regretting/repentance? That would only make us CURSE the past! What about reminiscing and pure indulgence in the ever sweet memories?
The author explains just that in 17 short(and sweet!) stories! He also emphasises on being ourself though that might seem eccentric to the whole world! He says "Others drive on, in a heat of hope, towards the pot of gold, at the end of their personal rainbows!". I too feel like being eccentric at times! But the "practical me" very often fails the "eccentric me"!
*On The Road:-
"India is more than a land.India is an atmosphere!"
*This is a set of Ruskin’s travel writing, or do I say a tribute to India, by an author of British descent?! He seems to be inclined and obssessed towards the bounties of nature. Not just this set, but all his stories(which are mostly centred around Mussoorie, Dehra Dun & Kasauli) talks about the rice fields, the meandering rivers, the sal, shisham and chestnut trees, a cuckoo bird singing in the bush etc.I assure you, dear reader, you will NEVER be reminded of any of your Geography classes when he speaks about the terrains/slopy Himalayan ranges. His description of a lone bullock hindering the traffic by its presence in the middle of the road causing vehicles to detour, the street side vegetable vendor squatting in front of their baskets, a poor kid gazing with eyes wide open at the tourists from within and outside India, all these only bring the place in front of your eyes. Whoever said a picture speaks louder than words?
*Songs/Love Poems/Extracts from Novels:-
The poems are mainly based on love, nature and subtle nuances of life like the long forgotten closely guarded secret."Looking back at boyhood years, even unhapiness acquires a certain glow!". **How very true? We DO laugh at some silly things for which we brought the roof down years ago!
Delhi is not Far(A short novel in the book):This is a story of 3 people(two young men and a young woman) striving to make ends meet in Pipalnagar. Situations slowly bring them together, and each of them enjoy sacrificing the little that they have for the sake of the other. Their suffering amidst poor health and the trifle happiness that they seek from the world, their quest to make it big in the city, such day to day instances are narrated with a tinge of humour. The conversation between the friends is what makes this one special. "I wonder why God ever bothered to make men, when He had the whole wide beautiful world to himself.Why did He find it necessary to share it with others?" Philosophical ranting this may seem to be, but we couldn’t deny that such thoughts DO crowd our mind at times.
Recommended for anyone who would LOVE to indulge in those memories which were priceless to you then, and equally invaluable now! Afterall, who wouldn’t want to?!