Ruskin
Bond’s books are all about innocence, poignancy, hills and some
intrigue. Even the whistling school boy and other stories of school
life is no exception to it.
The
book is divided into two parts. The first set of stories is titled
school days with Ruskin while the other is called School days, rule
days. I really liked the story Our Great Escape. It is about
friendship and partition. It looks at the loss which is caused to
Ruskin by the partition of the country. The Four Feathers shows how
considerate even the school going boys are, though their
over-enthusiasm to help others may cause some problems. I really
liked Here Comes Mr Oliver. The story elaborates the relationship
between the stern teacher and his equally stern pet very well. The
Whistling Schoolboy brings the intrigue in the hills. Every hill
station has its own set of ghost stories. No wonder some of them even
find mention in these stories. I had read Remember this Day in
another collection. This is a poignant tale of the last day which
Ruskin spent with his father. The School among the pines is about the
children in the hills who have to walk through leopard infested
jungles to reach the school. It articulates the conflict surrounding
Tehri Dam in a simple language which children can understand. While writing about the joy of reading books, Bond says reading was always a minority hobby. According to him more young people read books and even aspire to be writers in today's age. This was unheard of during his times. So he refutes the claim that the reading habit has dropped amongst the younger generation of today.
Ruskin
bond is never outdated. He never disappoints. I really liked this
book even though I found a mistake on page 71 in the following line,
‘If two people are thrown together for a long time, they can became
either close friends or sworn enemies.’
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