The Room On the Roof :by Ruskin Bond

My desire to read one of the Ruskin Bond's started with watching The Blue Umbrella. The movie was inspired by one of his writings. He being an Indian author with European descent the Desi touch in his stories is what stands out. He has written several novels, short stories and books for children in the course of a long writing career. This book was written by him when he was just 17 years old. He still lives in Mussorie.

The Room On The Roof is a story about a 16yr old boy-Rusty. Who himself is English but lives with his caretaker in DehraDun. His caretaker being a typical strict and shrewd guardian,imposes forced discipline on him. Somehow Rusty meets a bunch of Indian boys who become friends with him and together they explore the streets of Dehra. Living in a very enclosed environment, when Rusty gets involved in Indian festivals like HOLI and Diwali....he feels liberated. He abandons his caretaker on a sour note and starts living with his friends. To earn a living, being English....his spoken and written English is what comes to his rescue. He teaches one of the kids in the neighborhood and lives in a room on their rooftop. Here is when Rusty meets LIFE. Often he roams around Dehra eating chaat, pakodas and spends time in silence on the hill tops of dehra with his friends.

Rusty had never had Chaat, tikkees.......here is somethings interesting when he tasted tikkees for the first time..
Rusty tasted a bit. It was hot. He waited a minute then tasted another bit. It was still hot but in a different way;now it was lively,interesting;it had a diff taste to anything he had eaten before. Suspicious but inquisitive, he finished the tikkees and waited to see if anything woukd happen.
Have U had before?...asked Somi.
No' said Rusty....What will it do?'
Somi-' It might worry your stomach a little at first,but you will get used to it the more often you eat. So finish the other one too.'
hehe......:-).

While Rusty taught Kishen English he fell he in love with Kishen's mother. Who was a wife to a drunken Mr.Kapoor. Rusty & Mrs. Kapoor....bond very well together and also share intimate moments. Just when Rusty starts feeling the pink of life.....Mrs Kapoor dies in an accident. His life changes here onwards. Kishen and Mr Kapoor go away to stay at one of their relatives house. So Kishen is also taken away from him, Rusty does not know how to spend time without Mrs. Kapoor and his other friends also are busy with their own work and families.

Rusty decides to go back to England but once meet Kishen before he leaves India. When he reached Mr Kapoor house, he learns that he has already married and Kishen is still in Dehra. He did not want to live with a drunk dad and a step mother. Rusty heads back to Dehra and finds Kishen to be in bad company of pick pocketter's. Rusty wanted someone to share life with and Kishen needed someone who could show him the right way to live. Rusty decides to stay back and start a Chaat ki dukaaan and in the spare time may be teach English....and Kishen would assist him too. Kishen and Risty both were divorced from mankind, and Rusty was the only one who understood their misery.

One more interesting piece of writing in the book..

"They who sleep last, wake first. Hunger and pain lengthen the night, and so the beggars and dogs are the last to see the stars; hunger and pain hasten the awakening, and beggars and dogs are the first to see the sun."