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Party Time in Mussoorie
It is very kind of people to invite me to their parties, especially as I do not throw parties myself, or invite anyone anywhere. At more than one party I have been known to throw things at people. In spite of this—or maybe because of it—I get invited to these affairs.There’s nothing like being able to see the funny side of things in life. Whether it is a belt that decides to get hooked on to another passenger’s bag, or monkeys who visit and take refuge in the loo or even the omelettes that don’t turn out exactly the way they were intended, Ruskin Bond brings alive each of these situations with wry humour and a generous dose of wit. Party Time in Mussoorie is as much fun to read as it is to attend any of the weird and wonderful parties Ruskin Bond describes in this collection.
144 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 1, 2016
15 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
Ruskin Bond
673 books3,550 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 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 30, 2022
In ways more than one, this anthology is a brilliant tribute to Mussoorie and Landour. Packed with wit, humour and nostalgia, the articles are guaranteed to bring a smile to their face.
May 24, 2023
Witty, Warm and fast packed collection of short stories right from Ruskin Bond's backyard - Delhi, Mussoorie, Landour and Mathura.
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Party time in Mussoorie by Ruskin Bond is quite a lovable book which has chapters based on some or the other event in the life of the author.
Mr Bond affectionately describes the importance of a Postman in a writers life, writes about Cricket and his cousin's mental illness surrounding Ranji. There are a couple of stories involving monkeys and other friends from the zoo.
A thing to notice is, every story feels real, of course with some Bond Masala in it but feels closer to you. I love the way Mr. Bond pulls out something as bizarre as a Jinn and talks bout him being his friend as if describing a pretty much regular event.
Of all these lovable stories, The boy who broke the Bank was my favourite.
Towards the end of the book, Mr Bond publishes notes from his earlier days where he witnesses various
up's and down's.
A beautiful and fast-paced book to read.
----
Party time in Mussoorie by Ruskin Bond is quite a lovable book which has chapters based on some or the other event in the life of the author.
Mr Bond affectionately describes the importance of a Postman in a writers life, writes about Cricket and his cousin's mental illness surrounding Ranji. There are a couple of stories involving monkeys and other friends from the zoo.
A thing to notice is, every story feels real, of course with some Bond Masala in it but feels closer to you. I love the way Mr. Bond pulls out something as bizarre as a Jinn and talks bout him being his friend as if describing a pretty much regular event.
Of all these lovable stories, The boy who broke the Bank was my favourite.
Towards the end of the book, Mr Bond publishes notes from his earlier days where he witnesses various
up's and down's.
A beautiful and fast-paced book to read.
August 6, 2019
A delightful collection of some of the weirdest and wonderful parties in which Ruskin played an important part. This anthology has 18 of his previously published stories but what makes this collection immensely readable is the wit and humour packed in under 140 pages. And it will leave you with an amusing expression. Just as Ruskin mentions his grandmother's proverb in the introduction- God gave us our faces , we give ourselves our expressions.
May 12, 2021
‘It is better to be a human without any gifts, than a Jinn or a genius with one too many.’
Party time in Mussoorie, is a compilation of 18 short stories by Ruskin Bond, all fun and comical, with the famous one being Party time in Mussoorie representing the title of the book. Living in Mussoorie these forty years, he adds, was one big long party and the events that made up the party forms a part of his stories included in the book. Stories including grandpa fighting an Ostrich, monkey hopping on human Loo, The Boy who broke the bank, The trouble with Jinns are included in the book to give the readers a fun experience.
He remembers how he have been known to throw things at people at parties that he was invited at Mussoorie. The stories include tales of his neighbors throwing all sorts of parties – one being Mrs. K, who kept goat as a pet; other one being Mrs. Santra, a tiresome window who liked giving tea parties and how Bond would savor the taste of samosas, cakes and Jam tarts in between. Other friends at Parties included Aunty Bhakti, consumer of viands and victuals always hopping up to eat ice creams with Nandu Jauhar.
He also attended parties with Rekha, who grew herbs giving memorable parties filled with marijuana with her hippie friends.
Remembering about how Mussoorie was probably at its brightest and gayest in the Thirties; Ballrooms, skating-rinks and cinema halls flourished; Beauty saloons sprang up along the Mall, he directs the tales how lavish were the early 1930s in the hills.
Picnics were very much a part of hill-station life every time. Packing your lunch and trudging off to some distant stream or waterfall on memorable places such as Pari Tibba or at Mossy Falls.
We all need companions to walk beside us in the path of life. That’s where he cautions us in the story At the end of the Road, where he tells his tales of his fellow companions, good or bad, fun or boring which showcases how important is it to us to have good friends and company in life.
Bond in his book shares his insights about loving his breakfast and scrambled eggs, with a French toast in the morning and how always he manages to screw up the omelettes he made. Like he says – ‘Some thought has to go into an omelette. And a little love too. It’s like writing a book—done much better with some feeling!’.
The book describes his journeys to Delhi, events that he encountered enroute Delhi, friendships forged with cab drivers – one being Sardar Manmohan Singh who happened to be a wildlife enthusiast. With the tales he tells, it actually seems that we are fellow passengers, Bond and the readers, travelling to some faraway lands.
His thoughts and some daily entries are portrayed in story – Simply Living where he quotes wonderfully:
‘Some day, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love. Then for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.’
The years slip by and we grow old, but the days of our youth remain fresh in our minds.
Parties are a great way to socialize. But modern-day parties are becoming more of drugs and alcohol rather than having a great time together. One can get a great ‘high’ from so many other things—falling in love, or reading a beautiful poem, or taking in the perfume of a rose, or getting up at dawn to watch the morning sky and then the sunrise, or listening to great music, or just listening to bird song—it does seem rather pointless having to depend on artificial stimulants for relaxation.
It is always time to look forward, not backward, and one should not dwell too much on the past but prepare oneself to make the most of whatever time is left to us on this fascinating planet. Life has always got something new to offer.
Nostalgic about his charming days in Mussoorie, he ends with saying it’s still a party time in Landour and Mussoorie.
Party time in Mussoorie, is a compilation of 18 short stories by Ruskin Bond, all fun and comical, with the famous one being Party time in Mussoorie representing the title of the book. Living in Mussoorie these forty years, he adds, was one big long party and the events that made up the party forms a part of his stories included in the book. Stories including grandpa fighting an Ostrich, monkey hopping on human Loo, The Boy who broke the bank, The trouble with Jinns are included in the book to give the readers a fun experience.
He remembers how he have been known to throw things at people at parties that he was invited at Mussoorie. The stories include tales of his neighbors throwing all sorts of parties – one being Mrs. K, who kept goat as a pet; other one being Mrs. Santra, a tiresome window who liked giving tea parties and how Bond would savor the taste of samosas, cakes and Jam tarts in between. Other friends at Parties included Aunty Bhakti, consumer of viands and victuals always hopping up to eat ice creams with Nandu Jauhar.
He also attended parties with Rekha, who grew herbs giving memorable parties filled with marijuana with her hippie friends.
Remembering about how Mussoorie was probably at its brightest and gayest in the Thirties; Ballrooms, skating-rinks and cinema halls flourished; Beauty saloons sprang up along the Mall, he directs the tales how lavish were the early 1930s in the hills.
Picnics were very much a part of hill-station life every time. Packing your lunch and trudging off to some distant stream or waterfall on memorable places such as Pari Tibba or at Mossy Falls.
We all need companions to walk beside us in the path of life. That’s where he cautions us in the story At the end of the Road, where he tells his tales of his fellow companions, good or bad, fun or boring which showcases how important is it to us to have good friends and company in life.
Bond in his book shares his insights about loving his breakfast and scrambled eggs, with a French toast in the morning and how always he manages to screw up the omelettes he made. Like he says – ‘Some thought has to go into an omelette. And a little love too. It’s like writing a book—done much better with some feeling!’.
The book describes his journeys to Delhi, events that he encountered enroute Delhi, friendships forged with cab drivers – one being Sardar Manmohan Singh who happened to be a wildlife enthusiast. With the tales he tells, it actually seems that we are fellow passengers, Bond and the readers, travelling to some faraway lands.
His thoughts and some daily entries are portrayed in story – Simply Living where he quotes wonderfully:
‘Some day, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love. Then for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.’
The years slip by and we grow old, but the days of our youth remain fresh in our minds.
Parties are a great way to socialize. But modern-day parties are becoming more of drugs and alcohol rather than having a great time together. One can get a great ‘high’ from so many other things—falling in love, or reading a beautiful poem, or taking in the perfume of a rose, or getting up at dawn to watch the morning sky and then the sunrise, or listening to great music, or just listening to bird song—it does seem rather pointless having to depend on artificial stimulants for relaxation.
It is always time to look forward, not backward, and one should not dwell too much on the past but prepare oneself to make the most of whatever time is left to us on this fascinating planet. Life has always got something new to offer.
Nostalgic about his charming days in Mussoorie, he ends with saying it’s still a party time in Landour and Mussoorie.
March 15, 2017
This review was first published on The Era I Lived In
Having read many titles by Ruskin Bond in the past year, I have come to feel as if I know the author personally. This feeling is fuelled by the fact that every book by him has a repetition of a story or anecdote from his earlier works, that warms up my heart with the knowledge of reconnecting where I left before.
Though there are many favorites in this anthology that inspires the reader to see the funny, sunny side of life, I was enchanted by ‘Simple Living’ the most because it comprises of the excerpts from the author’s personal diary. While the handful of parties that Ruskin Bond attended were full of fun and fond memories but the book is packed with stories that left a lasting smile on my face while filling me with a feeling of warmth, every Ruskin Bond fan would have felt at some point or the other.
Having read many titles by Ruskin Bond in the past year, I have come to feel as if I know the author personally. This feeling is fuelled by the fact that every book by him has a repetition of a story or anecdote from his earlier works, that warms up my heart with the knowledge of reconnecting where I left before.
Though there are many favorites in this anthology that inspires the reader to see the funny, sunny side of life, I was enchanted by ‘Simple Living’ the most because it comprises of the excerpts from the author’s personal diary. While the handful of parties that Ruskin Bond attended were full of fun and fond memories but the book is packed with stories that left a lasting smile on my face while filling me with a feeling of warmth, every Ruskin Bond fan would have felt at some point or the other.
August 18, 2018
18 stories from the storyteller that I admire. For I can visualize the story while reading. Simple, quick read, filled with wit and wisdom.
November 15, 2018
Funny stories about how monkeys disturbed Ruskin Bond when he was younger.
March 18, 2019
18 stories and every single story are marvelous and beautiful. The way Author Ruskin Bond can create a simple incident into a funny one. Seriously, no one can write like him. Great book.
January 16, 2023
Nice collection of short stories And diary entries
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews