Looking For The Rainbow - My years with Daddy
by Ruskin Bond and illustrated by Mihir Joglekar
“Looking For The Rainbow - my years with Daddy” by Ruskin Bond and illustrated by Mihir Joglekar. Published by Penguin. The first of Ruskin Bond’s memoirs for children chronicling the two delightful years that he spent with his father in Delhi.
The story starts when Ruskin is eight years old. His parents had got separated and it was a difficult time for him. His mother was getting married again. He thought it was better to be staying with his father instead of staying with his mother in a new and unknown home. It was 1942 and WWII was at its peak. His father was working in the codes and cyphers section of the Royal Air Force (RAF) in New Delhi. He spent a year and a half with his dad without school.
Ruskin found it quite liberating to be away from his funless convent school at Dehradun. His father spent all of his spare time bringing him books, going on walks with him and taking him to movies. He shared his music and stamp collection with Ruskin. Something that he remembers with so much tenderness and delight to this day. He had to return to school after a year. This time it would be a boarding school in Shimla. The time that he spent with his father made him quite confident and independent. Read on about the beautiful bonding that the father and son shared.
I and my eight year old loved reading this book together. It is a classic for sure. The narrative flows so beautifully and we can imagine how close Ruskin had been with his father. We could understand the depth behind his following statement about the book. “When we are small we need someone to hold our hand in the dark”. I’d say not just small but for most of our life! The book ends with an unfortunate event but life must go on for Ruskin. He has to go find the rainbow after all! Memories of Ruskin’s childhood from over seventy years ago stand out vividly as we read the book. The illustrations are beautiful and complement the narrative perfectly.
I had bookmarked this book and the series for future in our wishlist. But a stroke of unexpected luck made us read it much earlier than I thought we would. Will talk about it when I write the review of the fifth and final book from 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 portrays the beautiful bonding between a father and son.
Where to buy from?
An independent bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.