Tigers for Dinner

by Ruskin Bond and illustrated by Sunaina Coelho

“Tigers for Dinner” by Ruskin Bond and illustrated by Sunaina Coelho. Published by Red Turtle. A collection of short stories about the tall tales narrated by Jim Corbett’s Khansama to the author when he was a child.

Mehmoud was the Khansama or cook at Ruskin Bond’s home when he was five or six years old. His parents were busy most of the time and he had the house as well as the grounds to himself largely. So he would spend a lot of time in the kitchen talking to Mehmoud and watching him at work. Mehmoud was a good storyteller. He had previously worked with Jim Corbett who had shot a large number of man-eating tigers and other dangerous animals. So he had lots of stories to tell most of which seemed quite tall but would leave little Ruskin spellbound. He was equally deft with stories as he was with preparing koftas, lamb chops, pies and milkshakes. Naturally, with skills such as these, he became Ruskin’s best friend!

Ruskin would ask him if he saw Corbett shoot a tiger? Mehmoud would reply in the affirmative and say that a tiger a week was nothing for “Carpet Sahib” (corrupted version of Corbett Sahib). Ruskin would then ask if the tigers came looking for Corbett or the other way round. Mehmoud would embark on a story then which could range from wrestling with a cobra in his bed to being carried away into the river by a muggermuch to the time when a tiger came looking for the cook. Peppered with characters such as man-eating tigers, incompetent maharajas, missing kitchen boys and haunted pillows. And mind you, all these stories would be narrated while he cooked up a delectable meal. Quite a feat that was!

I had a whale of a time reading this book with my seven year old. He just couldn’t stop after a chapter and kept asking me to read the next. It became an instant hit. He had borrowed it from his older cousin and is now wondering if he should return the book to her given that it is her favourite too. The illustrations are charming and bring a bygone era to life. The book is apt to be read aloud for children aged 6+ and 8/9+ for self reading.

Where to buy from?

An independent indie bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.