A Song of India - The year I went away
by Ruskin Bond and illustrated by Mihir Joglekar
“A Song of India - The year I went away” by Ruskin Bond and illustrated by Mihir Joglekar. Published by Penguin. The fourth book of Ruskin Bond’s memoirs for children which talks about sixteen year old Ruskin who is struggling to begin his writing journey and tries to make a passage to England for chasing his true calling.
Ruskin was done with school forever, as he liked to say, in early 1951. He was sure that he wanted to become a writer. No one else around him seemed to consider it as a good option. But Ruskin was determined. He was living with his mother and stepfather at the old station canteen in Dehradun. He was trying his hand at writing and mailing his stories and skits to different magazines and newspapers across the country.
He fondly recalls the times he went watching movies, walking and cycling across Dehradun, his new set of friends who became very close to him and how he began to prepare for his voyage to England. His aunt who lived in Jersey in Channel Islands had invited him to stay with her. He decided to accept the invitation and go to see if he could make his career as a writer getting to London eventually. The events from his last year in Dehradun described in this book were to become the basis for his first novel, “The Room on the Roof”.
My eight year old and me loved reading the book. He was delighted to know that Ruskin was finally out of school and doing what he enjoyed. He enjoyed reading about various aspects of Ruskin’s last year in Dehradun like friendship, playing games, learning, writing, teaching, facing setbacks, being hopeful of better times and dreaming as a sixteen year old. We were in a flow hopping from one book to the next of the series. A first for him in his reading journey. In fact he read the entire series again by himself after we both read it together. Something extraordinary given that he prefers me to do the reading bit most of the times! The illustrations are charming as has been the case throughout the series.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for anyone aged 8/9+.
Reasons to Read
The book is a wonderful memoir of one of India’s most loved writers!
The book is about the coming of age of the author and talks about the challenges that one faces when trying to set themselves up for a career and transitioning from boyhood to adulthood.
Where to buy from?
An independent bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.
P.S - For those who may have missed here are the first three books from the series - “Looking For The Rainbow - my years with Daddy”, “Till The Clouds Roll By - Beginning again” and “Coming Round the Mountain - In the year of Independence”.