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The Jungle Omnibus
The jungle comes alive in this wonderfully evocative collection of stories and poems from Indias best-loved storyteller.
Man-eating panthers, stealthy leopards, majestic tigers and strange birds inhabit the pages of this delightful collection that brings together thrilling tales from the jungle. From the leopard who develops an unlikely bond with a human, to a young boy who discovers a shelf of books in an old forest bungalow, from Timothy, the tiger cub that Grandfather brings home to tame, to the man-eater that terrorizes an entire village-here is a world where man and wild beast come together in surprising fascinating ways.
Interesting Facts
Told in simple, lyrical prose that characterizes Bonds writing, The Jungle Omnibus brings together in one delightful volume, a selection of stories and poems from the jungle spanning across the sixty years of Ruskin Bonds writing career.
This volume effectively captures a world where man and beast come together in order to survive, thus raising relevant questions about the environment and the need to protect the forest and its many inhabitants.
In turns thrilling, thoughtful, funny and heart-warming, this is a collection that will delight both children and adults alike.
Man-eating panthers, stealthy leopards, majestic tigers and strange birds inhabit the pages of this delightful collection that brings together thrilling tales from the jungle. From the leopard who develops an unlikely bond with a human, to a young boy who discovers a shelf of books in an old forest bungalow, from Timothy, the tiger cub that Grandfather brings home to tame, to the man-eater that terrorizes an entire village-here is a world where man and wild beast come together in surprising fascinating ways.
Interesting Facts
Told in simple, lyrical prose that characterizes Bonds writing, The Jungle Omnibus brings together in one delightful volume, a selection of stories and poems from the jungle spanning across the sixty years of Ruskin Bonds writing career.
This volume effectively captures a world where man and beast come together in order to survive, thus raising relevant questions about the environment and the need to protect the forest and its many inhabitants.
In turns thrilling, thoughtful, funny and heart-warming, this is a collection that will delight both children and adults alike.
198 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
77 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Ruskin Bond
706 books3,611 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 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 12, 2016
The warm evening sunlight flits through the leaves and as golden shafts they cover the meadow in glory. The birds chirp in trees, conversing and bickering with each other while a troop of hanuman langurs forage in the trees and on the ground. Peacocks give out their raucous cries while the spotted deer graze placidly in the meadow. A langur in the trees gives a sudden sharp cry and everything freezes as if in a tableau. The deer are alert with their eyes staring intently at the line of trees that border the meadow. The monkeys give the occasional cry and every one of them is in the trees now. A sudden alarm call rings out from a deer and from the treeline there is a lithe movement and the shadows slowly reveal the graceful form of the Tiger. Everyone flees and yet the Tiger is disinterested in anything and continues on its prowl. Just another evening in the Indian jungles.
This scene would have been commonplace in the jungles of India a few decades ago but with increasing urbanization, the forests and these animals have all but vanished. Books like ones by Kenneth Anderson and Jim Corbett are pleasing to my mind now because they are a throwback to a time when India was alive with flora and fauna and there were people who appreciated it. Ruskin Bond makes nature come alive with his words and that is one reason I adore his stories. He tells us among other stories : man eating leopards and little boys who fight them off, a day in the life of a crow and its relationship with humans, a slightly eccentric grandfather who rears a baby tiger, a baby elephant and a cassowary bird among his menagerie etc. The stories are charming and full of wit even when he is talking about an animal as dangerous as a man-eater. The book gives you a feel of walking along with a kindly old uncle who knows the ins and outs of the jungle around him and the animals that populate it. The stories are also a sad reminder as to how much man had desiccated this planet and the lives of its non-human inhabitants.
Special mention must be made of the three beautifully written stories from the collection : Panther’s moon. A crow for all seasons and Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright.
Love India’s flora and fauna ? Give this one a try.
This scene would have been commonplace in the jungles of India a few decades ago but with increasing urbanization, the forests and these animals have all but vanished. Books like ones by Kenneth Anderson and Jim Corbett are pleasing to my mind now because they are a throwback to a time when India was alive with flora and fauna and there were people who appreciated it. Ruskin Bond makes nature come alive with his words and that is one reason I adore his stories. He tells us among other stories : man eating leopards and little boys who fight them off, a day in the life of a crow and its relationship with humans, a slightly eccentric grandfather who rears a baby tiger, a baby elephant and a cassowary bird among his menagerie etc. The stories are charming and full of wit even when he is talking about an animal as dangerous as a man-eater. The book gives you a feel of walking along with a kindly old uncle who knows the ins and outs of the jungle around him and the animals that populate it. The stories are also a sad reminder as to how much man had desiccated this planet and the lives of its non-human inhabitants.
Special mention must be made of the three beautifully written stories from the collection : Panther’s moon. A crow for all seasons and Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright.
Love India’s flora and fauna ? Give this one a try.
December 18, 2019
A highly satisfying read!
June 26, 2019
24 pieces of prose and poetry of Ruskin Bond. SOme of them are published elsewhere. The introduction really makes one wonder about the author's views on nature and the human and wildlife relationship.
May 22, 2022
If there is any person who can connect the dots between mankind and animals, then it is Ruskin Bond. A writer of British ancestry, Bond resides in Mussoorie, India penning down all his experiences with nature. From being a lonely kid, Rusty, in The Room on the Roof to bathing in the joy of nature and wildlife in The Jungle Omnibus, he has come a long way in conquering our hearts.
My father gifted me Ruskin Bond’s The Jungle Omnibus when I was fourteen. But the stories in it captivate me with thousands of emotions that I explore through each character, giving me a new perspective each time I read them. 'A Tiger in the House,' one of the book's short stories, beautifully ravels an emotional connection between the narrator's grandfather and Timothy, a tiger. At the same time, he implies in it that the wild cannot be tamed. Another short story, The Tiger in the Tunnel, moves readers because it is difficult to determine who suffers the most among the tiger, the father, and Tembu.
Bond strengthens the relationship both between nature and humans and also among humans. Such a fine example is ‘An Island of Trees’. It is a conversation between a little Koki and her grandmother, where the grandmother recalls some of her childhood memories and talks about how her ancestors had always protected nature.
Besides short stories, the book also contains some poems, such as ‘The Owl’, ‘Tigers Forever', ‘The Snake’, etc. The poems in gist explain how wild creatures and nature habituate themselves on their own, fighting, searching and living.
To live amongst nature is to follow the survival of the fittest pact. But Bond also obliquely states that constant interference with the wilds’ home will doom mankind. That’s why he introduced us to the book saying, "Animals have simple needs, and all they want is to be left alone. We are the interlopers."
P.S. The Jungle Omnibus, being one of my comfort books, I can say it can be the perfect travel buddy for you. Also, light readers can go for it.
My father gifted me Ruskin Bond’s The Jungle Omnibus when I was fourteen. But the stories in it captivate me with thousands of emotions that I explore through each character, giving me a new perspective each time I read them. 'A Tiger in the House,' one of the book's short stories, beautifully ravels an emotional connection between the narrator's grandfather and Timothy, a tiger. At the same time, he implies in it that the wild cannot be tamed. Another short story, The Tiger in the Tunnel, moves readers because it is difficult to determine who suffers the most among the tiger, the father, and Tembu.
Bond strengthens the relationship both between nature and humans and also among humans. Such a fine example is ‘An Island of Trees’. It is a conversation between a little Koki and her grandmother, where the grandmother recalls some of her childhood memories and talks about how her ancestors had always protected nature.
Besides short stories, the book also contains some poems, such as ‘The Owl’, ‘Tigers Forever', ‘The Snake’, etc. The poems in gist explain how wild creatures and nature habituate themselves on their own, fighting, searching and living.
To live amongst nature is to follow the survival of the fittest pact. But Bond also obliquely states that constant interference with the wilds’ home will doom mankind. That’s why he introduced us to the book saying, "Animals have simple needs, and all they want is to be left alone. We are the interlopers."
P.S. The Jungle Omnibus, being one of my comfort books, I can say it can be the perfect travel buddy for you. Also, light readers can go for it.
July 13, 2019
Again, a good piece of writing by the great man. Although I liked most of the stories and felt a little to grown up to feel everything but some stories had an abrupt ending. A good bed-time read, which is what I did.
June 26, 2024
A beautifully written collection of stories about the jungle and animals from the pen of Ruskin bond. The stories illustrate the relationship between man and nature (with the underlying theme of nature conservation). I had read a few of the stories of the 24 prose and verse in some of his books. The best stories in the collection are the funny ones ("Unkle Ken's rumble in the jungle" and "A crow for all seasons - an unique perspective of human life through the eyes of a crow). The story "Angry river" shows the wrath and calm of nature and how humans cope with it with some mellifluous writing. The stories "Guests who come in from the forest" and "Tiger, Tiger burning bright" show the authors grasp on the behavior of animals and on nature conservation. Excellent collection of stories worth reading.
June 24, 2017
A brilliant book with stories from nature and wildlife by the inimitable Ruskin Bond. These stories will take you close to nature - into the jungles and over the hills. Stories like 'No Room for a Leopard' and 'the Tiger in the Tunnel' are simply beautiful. The author exhibits his love for creatures - large and small and his deep appreciation of nature and its ways. At the same time there are stories lamenting nature's degradation and exploitation.
Interestingly, there are a couple of stories that have a character called Mahmoud, who also was a cook to Jim Corbett! Overall a beautiful collection on nature, wildlife and the good old world of leopard's lairs and Forest Rest Houses.
Interestingly, there are a couple of stories that have a character called Mahmoud, who also was a cook to Jim Corbett! Overall a beautiful collection on nature, wildlife and the good old world of leopard's lairs and Forest Rest Houses.
August 7, 2021
A collection of short stories and poems on nature. While the book could be more aptly called 'The Nature Omnibus', as quite a few stories are not set in the jungle, the ones that are will leave an overhang of the forest even as you foray into the other tales.
For Ruskin Bond is an excellent writer, with sensitivities rivalling those of Jim Corbett. It is perhaps because his part of India was largely forested in those days, that he had been able to immerse in him sights, sounds and behaviours of the free creatures of our world - some wild, some tame.
There can be no better nature book than this.
For Ruskin Bond is an excellent writer, with sensitivities rivalling those of Jim Corbett. It is perhaps because his part of India was largely forested in those days, that he had been able to immerse in him sights, sounds and behaviours of the free creatures of our world - some wild, some tame.
There can be no better nature book than this.
April 4, 2020
Very entertaining
July 4, 2024
The prose - delightful, the poetry - not so much.
January 12, 2024
Excellent well written!
The stories are well written lucid representations of nature and wildlife!The stories are well researched and give a wide ranging view of life in the jungle as well as village life in areas in and around the forests of India!For a nature lover these stories provide a treasure trove of nature and its various aspects associated with Indian jungles!
The stories are well written lucid representations of nature and wildlife!The stories are well researched and give a wide ranging view of life in the jungle as well as village life in areas in and around the forests of India!For a nature lover these stories provide a treasure trove of nature and its various aspects associated with Indian jungles!
March 6, 2015
awesome books..although it mainly deals with life in jungle..yet I came across different genres,people of different socio-economic background, of different times with jungle being the backdrop. The language is simple with a lucid flow.
July 1, 2016
Short stories that will win one's heart.
September 12, 2016
Poetic language to narrate simple stories about the jungle. Refreshing read from the "normal" books!
October 24, 2019
A great book to read. After reading this I have started to appreciate the life of all living things around me.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews