The Tunnel
by Ruskin Bond and illustrated by Priya Dali
“The Tunnel” by Ruskin Bond and illustrated by Priya Dali. Published by Puffin. A timeless tale of a curious boy who finds an unexpected friendship in the middle of a jungle while exploring a nondescript tunnel.
Ranji was fascinated by the steam engine. He regularly waited by an insignificant tunnel in the middle of a jungle to watch the midday train go by. To him, it appeared like a snorting and puffing green, black and golden coloured dragon from his dreams. One day, he decided to check out the tunnel. He walked through it and came out the other side. He suddenly saw a flash of gold and black with a swishing tail disappear between the trees. Whatever it was had gone.
A few metres away stood the watchman’s hut. His name was Kishan Singh. It was his duty to inspect the tunnel every day before a train came and to keep it free of any obstacles. He did it twice a day. If anything was wrong, he had to walk back up the line and wave a red flag so that the engine driver could slow down. Kishan Singh was pleasantly surprised to see Ranji exploring the tunnel. He started talking to him and an unexpected friendship started between the two.
Kishan Singh wanted Ranji to see the night mail train pass through the tunnel. He would drop him home after the train went. How could Ranji refuse such an irresistible offer?! Was the visit eventful? Did Kishan Singh and Ranji have any adventure in the darkness? Did they see any obstacles in the tunnel? How was Ranji’s experience of watching the train? Would it make him see the jungle and the tunnel in a new light? Read the delightful book to know about Ranji’s time at the tunnel. The master storyteller has delivered a charming story again for the umpteenth time. Ranji is one of his eternal characters who keeps appearing in many of his stories.
My 7.5 year old loved the book. It kept him at the edge of the seat as the ending approached. We had attended the live session with Ruskin Bond organised by Storyteller Bookstore to talk about this book (his latest) last month. My son was thrilled to listen to Mr.Bond and was eagerly looking forward to reading the book. He read out most of the story to me for a change than the other way round. We loved the illustrations too especially the ones at the end of the book.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 6/7+.
Reasons to Read
The book portrays how beauty, joy and friendship can be found in the most unexpected places and ways. We don’t need to travel too far and just looking around us will give us things that we will appreciate. Who better than Ruskin Bond to tell us this?!
Where to buy from?
An independent indie bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.