My Trees in the Himalayas

by Ruskin Bond

‘I am fortunate to have a big window that opens out on the forest so that the trees are almost within my reach. If I jumped, I could land quite neatly in the arms of an oak or horse chestnut... These great trees of the mountains, I feel they know me well, as I watch them and listen to their secrets, happy to rest my head beneath their outstretched arms.’
It is Christmas time and a poor couple struggle to buy each other gifts. A wealthy lawyer encounters a ragged beggar and tries to set him on the right path. A little boy’s grief on realizing that he will never be able to speak his mother tongue again after his country is invaded by another. A happy story, revolving around a mere folder, set in the lobby of a fashionable hotel. The evergreen story of the nightingale who sacrificed herself for a rose. Selected and compiled by Ruskin Bond, this is a collection of stories from writers like O. Henry, Saki, Oscar Wilde, Anton Chekov, Alphonse Daudet and others.
Full of moments that range from joyous to heart-breaking, My Trees in the Himalayas will leave you mesmerized with its tales of the simple joys of life.

136 pages, Paperback

Published March 20, 2018

About the author

Ruskin 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.

Reviews

[Raksha Bhat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a neat compilation of the best short stories we know of, someone only like Ruskin Bond can come up with this idea.

[Prashant Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of 12 short stories by different writers shortlisted by Ruskin Bond. All the stories are very beautiful and leaves the reader mesmerized.

One of the best short story books that I have come across.

The Nightingale and the Rose is a beautiful story about love and sacrifice.

The Folder is about a folder which saved a young love.

The Last Lesson is about how the children, their teacher and the villagers behave during the last class before the school stops teaching their mother tounge.

The Tale of a Child has narrative of how a young boy sees the world differently than grownups. Full of sweetness and innocence.

And then there is My trees in the Himalayas by our own Ruskin Bond.

All the 12 stories are gems and I could not get enough.

[Swathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of a set of short stories selected by Ruskin Bond. I liked few of them and didn't get the others.