Delhi Is Not Far by Ruskin Bond
Paperback, 111 pages
Published November 2005 by Penguin (first published October 26th 2005)
How did I get it? I bought it.
How did I get it? I bought it.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Blurb:
In dull and dusty Pipalnagar, each day is like another, and 'there is not exactly despair, but resignation'. Even the dreams here are small: if he ever makes it to Delhi, Deep Chand, the barber, will open a more up-to-date salon where he might, perhaps, give the Prime Minister a haircut; Pitamber will trade his cycle-rickshaw for the less demanding scooter-rickshaw; Aziz will be happy with a junk-shop in Chandni Chowk. None, of course, will make that journey to Delhi. Adrift among them, the narrator, Arun, a struggling writer of detective novels in Urdu, waits for inspiration to write a blockbuster. One day he will pack his meagre belongings and take the express train out of Pipalnagar. Meanwhile, he seeks reassurance in love, and finds it in unusual places: with the young prostitute Kamla, wise beyond her years; and the orphan Suraj, homeless and an epileptic, yet surprisingly optimistic about the future.
Few authors write with greater sensitivity and skill about little India than Ruskin Bond. Delhi Is Not Far is a memorable story about small lives, with all the hallmarks of classic Ruskin Bond prose: nostalgia, charm, underplayed humour and quiet wisdom.
MY THOUGHTS:
Of course it's a classic. It's amazing how the author describes the ordinary things and nuances of ordinary people in a extraordinary way. As described in the blurb above, Arun is the narrator and the story is more about the town Pipalnagar rather than any specific characters. And of course, the characters along with it's climate and environment make up Pipalnagar. And more so, it is about the bond between Arun and Suraj. It is a simple story in a style which is simply beautiful.
