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The Kitemaker: Stories
Filled with characteristic warmth, gentle humour and keen observations on daily life, this collection brings together some of the finest short fiction by one of India’s best-loved authors.
152 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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420 people want to read
About the author
Ruskin Bond
680 books3,563 followersRuskin Bond is an Indian author of British descent. He is considered to be an icon among Indian writers and children's authors and a top novelist. He wrote his first novel, The Room on the Roof, when he was seventeen which won John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in 1957. Since then he has written several novellas, over 500 short stories, as well as various essays and poems, all of which have established him as one of the best-loved and most admired chroniclers of contemporary India. In 1992 he received the Sahitya Akademi award for English writing, for his short stories collection, "Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra", by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters in India. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 for contributions to children's literature. He now lives with his adopted family in Landour near Mussoorie.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
June 24, 2021
Reading Bond is always an adventure, of the slow kind. One can feel time slowing down its pace as one goes over his carefully chosen words. This one is a collection of his short stories that has accrued the status of 'classics' over time, as well as a few autobiographical entries. Because I grew up on his stories, I remember most of the shorts and it was a joy going over them again. Reading this edition, in particular, had the effect of hearkening me back to an older, simpler time - a time I was not a part of but had yet managed to catch a last breath of before its extinguishment by our current modern days. It is a mark of an excellent writer if they can transport you to another time and move your emotions through words; Bond achieves this with remarkable ease. The simplicity that he is master of eases its way into hearts and settles in cozily, and his style of writing with his fluid movement across genres mischievously makes sure the reader is engaged throughout. The selection of stories is also excellent, as the book begins with reminiscences about his father and closes on his mother in the hospital bed. Complex emotions are given the most magical of touches through the sheer humanness that Bond captures so well - life, love, death and laughter are all intertwined and given lives of their own. Little wonder, then, that this book is now occupying a special spot in my heart.
If you liked my review, do feel free to stop by my Instagram here!
If you liked my review, do feel free to stop by my Instagram here!
September 16, 2016
Its a great collection of stories by Mr. Bond.
All stories are more than just interesting. I enjoyed all of them, but quite scared when reached to the 'A face in the dark'. That's somewhat scary. Short but SCARY.
The story I enjoyed the most are:
Life with Father
Time stops at Shamli
The Tunnel
The most funny was the "The Boy who broke the Bank".
The writing skills of Mr. Bond is far better than any other Indian writers of his times. Very well known as the Children's Writer, Mr. Ruskin bond is the epitome in his category of Literature. One should learn from his writing for how to mold the stories and how to become one good writer?
This is the first book of him, that I read and it amazed me to the depth. Very soon I'll pick one more from his shelf of classics.
For me it deserves: 5.0/5.0
All stories are more than just interesting. I enjoyed all of them, but quite scared when reached to the 'A face in the dark'. That's somewhat scary. Short but SCARY.
The story I enjoyed the most are:
Life with Father
Time stops at Shamli
The Tunnel
The most funny was the "The Boy who broke the Bank".
The writing skills of Mr. Bond is far better than any other Indian writers of his times. Very well known as the Children's Writer, Mr. Ruskin bond is the epitome in his category of Literature. One should learn from his writing for how to mold the stories and how to become one good writer?
This is the first book of him, that I read and it amazed me to the depth. Very soon I'll pick one more from his shelf of classics.
For me it deserves: 5.0/5.0
December 27, 2017
The best thing about reading Ruskin Bond is his simple yet compelling art of narrating the details of the surroundings that we usually miss out. This book is a collection of some of his acclaimed short stories. Three of them are on his autobiographical account describing his correspondence with his father, his father's love towards him and how the failed marriage set off ripples of insecurity and stress on his childhood.
There are a couple of stories which reveals his romantic side. An affair at an age of 32 gives this author a reason to leave the hills for Delhi to convince the girl's relatives for her hand in marriage.
The ones that I liked the most are 'Time stops at Shamli' and 'He said it with Arsenic'.
If anyone enjoys reading short stories which give you a nice, lively feeling with fleeting bits of humor, this one is surely a treat for you.
There are a couple of stories which reveals his romantic side. An affair at an age of 32 gives this author a reason to leave the hills for Delhi to convince the girl's relatives for her hand in marriage.
The ones that I liked the most are 'Time stops at Shamli' and 'He said it with Arsenic'.
If anyone enjoys reading short stories which give you a nice, lively feeling with fleeting bits of humor, this one is surely a treat for you.
July 31, 2014
I had heard a lot about Ruskin Bond, so picked up this short collection of stories. The style is very endearing, and easy to read. I can see why he became a known author. The stories themselves are very varied. A couple I just did not like at all, but most were written in the first person. The start was autobiographical, and so the most interesting stories for me were those where weird and wonderful characters turned up, and I was never sure if he was still being autobiographical or not!
August 26, 2016
was there really a leopard in the tunnel ? i just adore whatever ruskin bond writes . every single story of this collection captivates imagination . i love the way ruskin describes solitude , how beautifully he creates those unbelievable images in readers mind .
KUDOS to ruskin bond . >_<
KUDOS to ruskin bond . >_<
December 19, 2011
“The Kitemaker: Stories” (by Ruskin Bond, publishers: Penguin Evergreens)- A Review
The first story, ‘Life with Father’, is a fitting start to the book. At once, in its beguiling simplicity and compassionate monochrome, it embodies all good things Ruskin Bond has come to be known for. In this story, he paints the picture of a year spent with his father. It is a picture in retrospect, painted not with CGI but on a drawing sheet with water colors, 32 in a set. The story tangentially also speaks about the days of the ‘Raj’, Ruskin’s life in a boarding school (more of this life would be depicted in the next story, ‘My Father’s Last Letter’), the separation of his parents, tidbits about his sister and grandmother and importantly, the various houses (and bungalows and tents and apartments) Ruskin and his father lived in, during an eventful year when as the World War-II raged on, a young boy’s world was breaking apart as well.
‘Untouchable’, also included in the collection is the first story Ruskin Bond had written. Written as a sixteen year old and a year before ‘Room on the Roof’, his John Llewellyn Rhys prize winner that would break him into the mainstream, ‘Untouchable’ is a disarmingly awkward account of the friendship between two children, each from different strata of society. The theme of friendship is further explored in the fifth story, ‘The Fight’, that evokes R.K. Narayan’s ‘Malgudi Days’ in its wholesome charm and innocence.
‘Time stops at Shamli’ is perhaps Bond’s best loved story. And it pleases me no end that it has aged well. Playing around with facts and fiction, this story tells the untold tale of a small, languid town where nothing much ever happens. ‘Shamli’ is intriguing because we realize that it has come to become a microcosm of the other India we know so little about, the India that grazes by our urbane train windows and continues to lead a life of anonymity, the India that would soon be lost on us like Atlantis. Yes, the second act is probably contrived, but the atmosphere that the author manages to create is unparalleled and the story is a success.
‘The Kitemaker’ takes me back to my school days because I remember having read this story in our those N.C.E.R.T standard seven English books. Nostalgia aside, this again is a strong short story, a commentary on the changing times, migration and industrialization. Mehmood, the story’s protagonist, is a composite picture of many lost souls in this rat-race.
‘A Face in the Dark’ is another famous Bond story, a story you may have heard of as some urban legend, while not knowing then who the author was. Well, here is that very story and it is just as scary in print as it is in narration. ‘He said it with Aresnic’ is almost a misfit in the collection: a dark, noir-ish tale of a planned crime and its consequences. It is quite a gripping tale in its own way but not the quintessential Ruskin Bond.
‘The Last Time I Saw Delhi’ is a touching end to the collection, with the author (or the narrator, difficult to say which one) describing a taxi-ride he had taken in one late-August to meet his mother in Delhi. Again, the story talks about the burgeoning urbanity and how it is impacting the things and people of yore. He succeeds in making the reader so disarmed with his non-threatening prose that if and when he does make statements on capitalism, education and politics, then the reader is quietly receptive to give those statements the gravitas they deserve because Bond rarely rants or lashes. He describes and he describes so heartbreakingly.
“The Kitemaker: Stories” is a must-read collection of short stories by one of India’s foremost storytellers.
The first story, ‘Life with Father’, is a fitting start to the book. At once, in its beguiling simplicity and compassionate monochrome, it embodies all good things Ruskin Bond has come to be known for. In this story, he paints the picture of a year spent with his father. It is a picture in retrospect, painted not with CGI but on a drawing sheet with water colors, 32 in a set. The story tangentially also speaks about the days of the ‘Raj’, Ruskin’s life in a boarding school (more of this life would be depicted in the next story, ‘My Father’s Last Letter’), the separation of his parents, tidbits about his sister and grandmother and importantly, the various houses (and bungalows and tents and apartments) Ruskin and his father lived in, during an eventful year when as the World War-II raged on, a young boy’s world was breaking apart as well.
‘Untouchable’, also included in the collection is the first story Ruskin Bond had written. Written as a sixteen year old and a year before ‘Room on the Roof’, his John Llewellyn Rhys prize winner that would break him into the mainstream, ‘Untouchable’ is a disarmingly awkward account of the friendship between two children, each from different strata of society. The theme of friendship is further explored in the fifth story, ‘The Fight’, that evokes R.K. Narayan’s ‘Malgudi Days’ in its wholesome charm and innocence.
‘Time stops at Shamli’ is perhaps Bond’s best loved story. And it pleases me no end that it has aged well. Playing around with facts and fiction, this story tells the untold tale of a small, languid town where nothing much ever happens. ‘Shamli’ is intriguing because we realize that it has come to become a microcosm of the other India we know so little about, the India that grazes by our urbane train windows and continues to lead a life of anonymity, the India that would soon be lost on us like Atlantis. Yes, the second act is probably contrived, but the atmosphere that the author manages to create is unparalleled and the story is a success.
‘The Kitemaker’ takes me back to my school days because I remember having read this story in our those N.C.E.R.T standard seven English books. Nostalgia aside, this again is a strong short story, a commentary on the changing times, migration and industrialization. Mehmood, the story’s protagonist, is a composite picture of many lost souls in this rat-race.
‘A Face in the Dark’ is another famous Bond story, a story you may have heard of as some urban legend, while not knowing then who the author was. Well, here is that very story and it is just as scary in print as it is in narration. ‘He said it with Aresnic’ is almost a misfit in the collection: a dark, noir-ish tale of a planned crime and its consequences. It is quite a gripping tale in its own way but not the quintessential Ruskin Bond.
‘The Last Time I Saw Delhi’ is a touching end to the collection, with the author (or the narrator, difficult to say which one) describing a taxi-ride he had taken in one late-August to meet his mother in Delhi. Again, the story talks about the burgeoning urbanity and how it is impacting the things and people of yore. He succeeds in making the reader so disarmed with his non-threatening prose that if and when he does make statements on capitalism, education and politics, then the reader is quietly receptive to give those statements the gravitas they deserve because Bond rarely rants or lashes. He describes and he describes so heartbreakingly.
“The Kitemaker: Stories” is a must-read collection of short stories by one of India’s foremost storytellers.
May 16, 2021
“It's fine to dream, provided we can deal with the reality when we wake up”.
Published by Evergreen classics, The Kitemaker: Stories, comes another of Bond’s compilation of 13 short stories, which like him are immortalized in the pages of history by his ball point pen.
Harmony of two minds is what makes relationships endure. His stories reflect his failed love stories and sometimes a regret of being a bachelor all his life. The first two stories are autobiographical in nature and tells his relationship with father, his early years in Jamnagar and Delhi and also has an extract of his last postcard from his father before dying two weeks after, an extract bearing the conversation with his dying mother and many more stories.
The title of this book comes from a famous story about a kitemaker, Mehmood, who was a renowned kitemaker of his times, even served the Nawabs of his times. Bond in his story mentions about the times when men flew kites, great battles were fought, the kites swerving and swooping in the sky, tangling with each other until one of them was severed. Theme of changing times has been explored as to how people worship you in your famous and good times but then forgot you eventually when you are no longer in your prime and as your grow older. A coming-of-age tale finely woven into a narrative, thoughtful and provoking, emphasizing about the sad realities of life.
Be it any book or any stories, Ruskin Bond books are hard to turn down. I found this book on the internet through an unexpected advertisement popping on my screen but I am glad it did and that too on the right time.
An exhilarating and a refreshing read, filled with characteristic warmth, gentle humour and keen observation on daily life, mixed with a tinge of nostalgia, sweet and sour memories of his childhood, immerse yourself in the world of India’s favorite author once again.
Published by Evergreen classics, The Kitemaker: Stories, comes another of Bond’s compilation of 13 short stories, which like him are immortalized in the pages of history by his ball point pen.
Harmony of two minds is what makes relationships endure. His stories reflect his failed love stories and sometimes a regret of being a bachelor all his life. The first two stories are autobiographical in nature and tells his relationship with father, his early years in Jamnagar and Delhi and also has an extract of his last postcard from his father before dying two weeks after, an extract bearing the conversation with his dying mother and many more stories.
The title of this book comes from a famous story about a kitemaker, Mehmood, who was a renowned kitemaker of his times, even served the Nawabs of his times. Bond in his story mentions about the times when men flew kites, great battles were fought, the kites swerving and swooping in the sky, tangling with each other until one of them was severed. Theme of changing times has been explored as to how people worship you in your famous and good times but then forgot you eventually when you are no longer in your prime and as your grow older. A coming-of-age tale finely woven into a narrative, thoughtful and provoking, emphasizing about the sad realities of life.
Be it any book or any stories, Ruskin Bond books are hard to turn down. I found this book on the internet through an unexpected advertisement popping on my screen but I am glad it did and that too on the right time.
An exhilarating and a refreshing read, filled with characteristic warmth, gentle humour and keen observation on daily life, mixed with a tinge of nostalgia, sweet and sour memories of his childhood, immerse yourself in the world of India’s favorite author once again.
March 28, 2013
This collection is really interesting, though all the stories are good
I like the following stories
1. The Boy who broke the bank
2. The Kitemaker
3. A face in the dark
4. He said it with arsenic
5. The last time I saw Delhi
I like the following stories
1. The Boy who broke the bank
2. The Kitemaker
3. A face in the dark
4. He said it with arsenic
5. The last time I saw Delhi
July 22, 2018
Well this is the first book of Ruskin Bond I have read. And it is very good. All stories are well written and what I love most about this book is Ruskin’s great style of narrating details of the surroundings. I enjoyed almost all the stories. Though which I liked most are:
Life with Father
My father’s last letter
The photograph
Time stops at shamli
The kitemaker
He said it with Arsenic
The last time I saw Delhi
..
Must Read. If you like short stories then this book is a treat for you.!!
Life with Father
My father’s last letter
The photograph
Time stops at shamli
The kitemaker
He said it with Arsenic
The last time I saw Delhi
..
Must Read. If you like short stories then this book is a treat for you.!!
June 2, 2021
Ruskin Bond is and will be my all time favorite author. I'm not an avid reader. But Bond's easy but intense stories made me read more. This is a collection of amazing short stories by Ruskin Bond. My favorite story in this collection is Love is a sad song ❤ it's been a really different experience, crying your heart out after reading a book with our imaginary characters in our imaginary world. Must read book for short story lovers and all readers.
August 13, 2018
Ruskin is simply great. He is one of the writers where you learn that a writer can create magic from simple words. Recreating the atmosphere with just words is not an easy task, but Ruskin does it so easily that it makes me wonder, why we do not have another writer of his caliber in India.
The stories are superb. The narration is excellent. Must read for a Ruskin Bond fan.
The stories are superb. The narration is excellent. Must read for a Ruskin Bond fan.
August 16, 2025
A wonderful collection of short stories. My feeling is these are autobiographical. Of course, all of it cannot be true - some of the stories blur the lines of reality. Yet they seem real. They feel like memories we all have have and while we know they happened, they seem odd in some parts, unbelievable in others. A beautiful book that gave me with a sense of calm.
October 25, 2018
Interesting stories about himself and others. Components of the natural world are mentioned in all of his stories. As a bird watcher, I love it when he mentions the names of birds in his stories. A story on his life with his father is heart warming and touching.
May 11, 2020
The Kitemaker is one of the best works of Ruskin Bond. A must read if you like stories which evolve from our day to day life and surrounding. I love his simple writing style which makes the stories more beautiful and simple.
February 10, 2018
Ruskin Bond’s stories remind me of my school years...especially the stary A Face in the Dark...
January 4, 2021
Some beautiful and heartfelt accounts by the legendary Ruskin Bond :)
April 5, 2022
It is talking about a people who is making a kite for the kite-flying festival, but there are many difficulty and problem that making the kite such as can not smoothly to fly the kite and do not have many time to prepare the kite-flying festival. After preparing, the kite-flying festival start, many children fly kites outside, the stronger ones winning and that the weaker ones breaking into paper tears before falling to the ground.
September 4, 2023
Ruskin Bond has always been one of my favorite authors. His style of writing is simple, and yet effective. Laced with a subtle humor, he is able to suffuse his writing with a freshness that is so characteristic of the hills (where he resides), and brings it down to the plains. In the Kitemaker, it is all about Mehmood the kitemaker, and his grandson Ali. As the title suggests it is about kite flying and the changing times. The story opens in the street known as Gali Ram Nath where Ali’s kite has got caught in the branches of an ancient banyan tree growing through the cracks of an abandoned mosque. Nodding dreamily in the back courtyard, Mehmood indulgently gives Ali another kite of his creation. It is attractively made of bamboo, paper and thin silk; a pale pink kite with a green tail, “firming up in the sun”. Ali is excited and says that the kite will “fly like a bird”. This sets Mehmood reminiscing. He goes back in time when kite flying was a noble pastime patronized by nawabs and his ilk. It also involved betting and exchange of money . He especially recalls the creation of a very special dragon kite made to please the nawab. This kite, “assumed an undulatory form” and gave it, “the appearance of a crawling serpent”. This cumbersome device could be hoisted with great skill and only Mehmood could do it. A great crowd gathered as word got around that it possessed supernatural powers. The kite seemed to have a life of its own as it tugged hard at the twine and eventually soared away into the sun. But times had changed. People were not interested in flying kites anymore. Children were more interested in cinema, and adults were caught up in the, “ swiftly changing, competitive world” and were indifferent to kiteflying. They had no time to spare for an old man like Mehmood and his trivialities. He was like the banyan tree, his hands gnarled and twisted like the roots of the ancient tree. Whereas his grandson Ali was like the young, mimosa sapling planted at the end of the courtyard, signifying all that is fresh and youthful. The future is thus in the hands of the youth and Mehmood belongs to the bygone days that were, “leisurely and spacious”. Suddenly Mehmood hears Ali’s voice and feels like its coming from a distance. He is silent when Ali queries about the whereabouts of his mother. “The sunlight was slanting across the old man’s head and a small white butterfly rested on his flowing beard. Ali then, “puts his small brown hand on the old man’s shoulder, he meets with no response…These final lines from the short story leaves the readers to speculate about the probable passing away of a soul described beautifully in the following imagery: “The butterfly left the old man’s beard and flew to the mimosa tree – a sudden gust of wind caught the torn kite and lifted it in the air, carrying it far above the struggling city into the blind, blue sky.”
June 12, 2016
Ruskin Bond is a master of simple yet nuanced storytelling using atmosphere and imagery to breathe new life into simple tales and experiences. In the Kitemaker , we get a set of stories that ring close to this personal life, told beautifully with its soul in the right place.
The initial two stories speak about his childhood through the trauma of separation of his parents and his experiences with his father which has highs and lows and a heart wrenching finale. The next three stories are more at ease in terms of content and style with 'The Boy Who Broke The Bank' standing out for its beautifully crafted humour. Bond goes back to introspection of his own life and heartbreaks through the next two tales 'Love Is A Sad Song' and 'Time Stops At Shamli'. The two best stories in the set, it takes the readers on a journey of love, togetherness, belief, pain and sacrifices through beautifully fleshed characters in a society that seems all too real.
'The Kitemaker' is a musing on innocence lost and 'The Tunnel' speaks about the sync of mankind and nature. 'A Face In The Dark' delves into the supernatural and is an eerie horror pairing in this set. 'He Said It With Arsenic' has a fascinating context to keep you gripped and the collection ends with Bond's musings in the write up 'The Last Time I Saw Delhi', a melancholic remenesence of the days gone by.
Beautifully crafted with enchanting imagery, Ruskin Bond conjures up a fine cocktail through The Kitemaker collection. A perfect read by the window for that rain drenched evening.
The initial two stories speak about his childhood through the trauma of separation of his parents and his experiences with his father which has highs and lows and a heart wrenching finale. The next three stories are more at ease in terms of content and style with 'The Boy Who Broke The Bank' standing out for its beautifully crafted humour. Bond goes back to introspection of his own life and heartbreaks through the next two tales 'Love Is A Sad Song' and 'Time Stops At Shamli'. The two best stories in the set, it takes the readers on a journey of love, togetherness, belief, pain and sacrifices through beautifully fleshed characters in a society that seems all too real.
'The Kitemaker' is a musing on innocence lost and 'The Tunnel' speaks about the sync of mankind and nature. 'A Face In The Dark' delves into the supernatural and is an eerie horror pairing in this set. 'He Said It With Arsenic' has a fascinating context to keep you gripped and the collection ends with Bond's musings in the write up 'The Last Time I Saw Delhi', a melancholic remenesence of the days gone by.
Beautifully crafted with enchanting imagery, Ruskin Bond conjures up a fine cocktail through The Kitemaker collection. A perfect read by the window for that rain drenched evening.
January 4, 2016
Great collection of short stories by Ruskin Bond.
I am just starting to exploring his work, and was worried that it shouldn't be a children's classic, its not, and its a very nice collection of his growing up years, when he was a struggling writer & also going through his parent's seperation, being moved from his father to his mother (after his death), to his grandmother's home in Calcutta (after mom's 2nd marriage), eventually decided to roam around alone, probably all the great stories (like visit to Shamli, romance time etc) should be credited to this period.
A must read collection of very fine writing.
I am just starting to exploring his work, and was worried that it shouldn't be a children's classic, its not, and its a very nice collection of his growing up years, when he was a struggling writer & also going through his parent's seperation, being moved from his father to his mother (after his death), to his grandmother's home in Calcutta (after mom's 2nd marriage), eventually decided to roam around alone, probably all the great stories (like visit to Shamli, romance time etc) should be credited to this period.
A must read collection of very fine writing.
August 4, 2016
So good that I finished the book in just one sitting. Tales of poignancy, humour, nostalgia, and irony.
The Boy Who Broke the Bank - humor and had O.Henry like twist.
Love is a sad song, Time Stops at Shamli - heart-warming tale of futile love.
A Face in the Dark - gave me goosebumps and who says horror stories need to be long winding? This story is a flash fiction.
The Boy Who Broke the Bank - humor and had O.Henry like twist.
Love is a sad song, Time Stops at Shamli - heart-warming tale of futile love.
A Face in the Dark - gave me goosebumps and who says horror stories need to be long winding? This story is a flash fiction.
October 10, 2013
"SIMPLICITY" is all i can say for Mr.Bond. You do not need to have tonnes of difficult words or the vocabulary of highest standard if you are master at expressing the "EMOTION". The boy who broke the bank and He said it with arsenic are pick of the stories.
June 10, 2016
Like his way of writing, simple and charming. Bunch of interesting and not so interesting stories, was pleasantly surprised to know that he has spent quite some years in my hometown Jamnagar during his primary childhood days :)
May 25, 2012
Super!
Read
September 18, 2012I love the way ruskin bond portrays what he want to and that too in such a simple style! must read for all bond fans!
December 21, 2012
simple as only bond can be...
February 13, 2013
Simply Superb !
December 25, 2015
Rating 3.25 / 5
September 28, 2016
Some of the stories are repeated from other story collections by Ruskin bond.
A pleasant read nonetheless
A pleasant read nonetheless
June 21, 2017
Ruskin Bond's best ever short stories' collection. Delightful and every bit interesting.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews