Lone Fox Dancing: My Autobiography

by Ruskin Bond

Over 60 years, for numerous readers and listeners - of all ages; in big cities, small towns and little hamlets - Ruskin Bond has been the best kind of companion. He has entertained, charmed and occasionally spooked us with his books and stories and opened our eyes to the beauty of the everyday and the natural world. He has made us smile when our spirits are low and steadied us when we've stumbled.   

Now, in this brilliantly listenable autobiography - his book of books - one of India's greatest writers shows us the roots of everything he has written. He begins with a dream and a gentle haunting before taking us to an idyllic childhood in Jamnagar by the Arabian Sea - where he composed his first poem - and New Delhi in the early 1940s, where he found material for his first short story. It was a brief period of happiness that ended with his parents' separation and the untimely death of his beloved father. A search for companionship and security, undercut by a fierce independence and a tendency for risk-taking, would inform every choice he made for the rest of his life.   

With effortless intimacy and candour, Bond recalls his boarding school days in Shimla and winter holidays in Dehradun, when he tried to come to terms with a sense of abandonment, made friends, discovered great books and found his true calling. Determined to be a writer, he spent four difficult years in England, from 1951 to 1955, and he writes poignantly of his loneliness there, even as he kept his promise to himself and produced a book - the classic novel of adolescence The Room on the Roof. It was born of his longing for 'the atmosphere that was India' - the home he would return to even before the novel was published, taking a gamble that would prove to be the best decision he made.   

In the final, glorious section of the autobiography, he writes about losing his restlessness and settling down in the hills of Mussoorie, surrounded by generous trees, mist and sunshine, birdsong, elusive big cats, new friends and eccentrics - and a family that grew around him and made him its own. Full of anecdote, warmth and gentle wit, often deeply moving and always with a magnificent sense of time and place - and containing over 50 photographs, some of them never seen before - Lone Fox Dancing is a book of understated, enduring magic, like Ruskin Bond himself.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Indian Literature, Autobiography, India, Literature

328 pages, Paperback

Published May 10, 2019

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

[Gorab · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read for Ruskin Bond fans!

Like he mentions, there are not many interesting events to write about in his life. But the way he recollects and writes them is why we love him :)
Honestly he mentions that he's not going to write honestly about all the sentiments and important people.
"For it is the 'uninteresting' people who have shaped me up as an individual and as a writer."

What I loved:
- This was my secret santa gift of 2017 :)
- Having read many of his 'semi-biographical' stories, expected common content for most part. I was stumped to my delight :D
- Inset pics handpicked by him.
- Narration style.
- Beautiful cover to grace your shelf - his smiling face as a toddler, yound man and now :)

What I didn't like:
- From birth till 35 years of age comprises 90% of this book. Craved for more content of his latter years.

Recommened: All Ruskin Bond fans.
Not Recommended: If you seek autobiographies for an exceptional life.

[Ahtims · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book deserves full 5 stars and more - for its charming innocence, simplicity and matter of factedness ( perhaps a self coined word... but I want to use it here).
I delved into the life and times of Ruskin Bond.
I longed for a house in Dehra/ Mussourie/ any other hilly valley with a cold climate and lots of solitude and space for oneself.

Ruskin Bond was one among my favourite authors.. but now he has become one of the most favourite- not necessarily for the stories he's written - I find most of them 3 or 4 star worthy... but for his warm and kind heart and the way he portrayed a few of his private feelings and moments...
I admired him for his simplicity and humanity ..
I know that one can easily reveal positive and mask negative aspects, especially while writing ones own story, but here every word rang true.. and I was able to make out a few areas where the author restrained from showing more of his feelings.

Somehow he gave me the impression of a passive aggressive attitude towards Khushwant Singh... other than that, he hasn't besmirched a single human being.

he seemed kind and large hearted ... and am glad that I read this book, even more glad that I succumbed to the temptation of buying a hard copy.

Will treasure this book... and will definitely read it again.

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨Some awesome lines:

"I'm not against religion- I'm not against anything, really. To each his own."

"We get used to happiness very quickly, more so when we are children."

"Some friends- their eyes, their touch, their words- cannot be erased from our memory."

"Strange, how the human race can elevate the vilest of men to positions of all-powerful tyranny and then take equal pleasure in dragging them down into the dust. Even good men can be destroyed if they excite the envy of their fellows."

"Books do sometimes turn up in unexpected places."

"There were books, of course, providing another and better form of escape, but books had to be read at home, and sometimes I wanted to get away from the house and pursue a solitary other-life in the anonymous privacy of a darkened cinema hall."

[Vrsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The man is a master. Everytime I pick up any of his books, it is like a whole new experience all over again. He makes the mundane interesting. He makes biology fun. He concocts wild animals in the funniest of ways. Finally, his autobiography is out and all the questions about his childhood and early life is out in the open, well somewhat. Made me realise how close to the truth his books had always been. He rejuvenates my interest in reading. Been through a lot, the man has shown perseverance. He instils the confidence in us to give up everything and just go live in the hills, that everything is worth it. He ultimately has proven it to us life is all about wanting to do what you want to do. And being happy about it. No regrets. Salute to the man. As many of us, one of earnest desires has been to meet the man face to face and talk to him. Maybe I could. But then, I read somewhere in an interview that he doesn't like being disturbed by strangers. Well, that's what we are to him. Hence, when I did get a chance to pass by Ivy Cottage during my last trip to Mussoorie, I just paid my distant respects to the master writer who has retained the love for reading in young readers like me who have grown up reading him, like he were one of our very own.

[Saumya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge admirer of Ruskin Sir's writing and reading his autobiography turned out to be a fulfilling experience for me. This book made me smile so many times. It is wonderfully written and doesn't drag at all. This is a must read for everyone who is a fan of Ruskin Sir's books. Also, reading the autobiography of someone whose work has continually turned your sad days into happy days is very rewarding. Apart from learning about his life, I also got to read about British India which was very fascinating.
Loved this book!

[Kedar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Towards the end of Lone Fox Dancing (LFD), Mr. Bond writes about the severe storm that ravages his Ivy Cottage home. How the natural yet merciless powers shake up the house and sweep the roof away, and then the snow falls and freezes the fear. Mr. Bond finds beauty in the midst of this all. It is almost an analogy to his past with events that swept his life and carved his future, and all the while he hung on to the things he loved. The man whose pen rains wonderful words on paper and writes beautifully about the life that he has had, the different people he met and loved, and the immovable mountains that sheltered the writer in him.

I missed being among strangers without feeling like an outsider; I missed everything that made it all right to be sentimental and emotional.

This is only my second book by Mr. Bond. I haven't read any of his fiction, but I feel that when I pick up his other books to read, LFD will help me recall his memory-rich past life that might have triggered a particular anecdote, story, events, or characters in the books. As Mr. Bond himself explains so well:

I suppose most writers, to a greater or lesser extent, base their fictional characters upon real people. Mine come very close to the reality. It is my own response to them that varies. The most fictional of all my characters is myself.

I love his writing. It gave me a warm and cozy feeling. The journey from childhood to adulthood and further was sprinkled with giggles, smiles, a bit of sadness, hope, and continuously moving on to the next phase of life. It is evident in the writing how, as a child, he absorbed the happenings around him, let the most memorable things carry him forth, and recalled the quick flashes of history. Then the mountains took over and then the words became one with nature. Birds sing, trees rustle, raindrops pitter-patter, snowflakes mesmerize, the lone fox dances, and the brave leopard leaves with indigestion.

I was fortunate in that I ventured into the literary world with a certain wide-eyed innocence, and managed to maintain that innocence for most of my life.

On the "evening of Mr. Bond's long and fairly fulfilling life," I certainly think that I will be revisiting Dehra, Delhi, Mussoorie, the mountains and the valleys, the birds and their songs, the people and their stories through your writing, Mr. Bond.

I hope to learn a thing or two about "how much I still needed to learn about contentment."

So here I am, a young boy, an old writer, without regrets.

So long!

It seems strange
How we used to wait for letters to arrive
But what's stranger still
Is how something so small can keep you alive
We used to wait
We used to waste hours just walkin' around
We used to wait
All those wasted lives in the wilderness downtown

We Used To Wait by Arcade Fire.

[Bindu Madhav · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wry humour mixed with a sense of melancholy, Ruskin Bond's Autobiography is about how a confused child turned into an author who is popular and on demand.

Fifty years in the hills(since 1963) has made a great change from all those good and bad during boyhood and his youth. In his words

"it's good to be in once place for a certain length of time, in order to savour the passing seasons, the comings and goings of people, and above all, to watch the children grow up".

[Nirav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruskin Bond is warm, passionate, conversational and so humorous as he shares his insights and
experiences.

This book gives us a wonderful insight of his difficult childhood, his love for nature and how he loved the hills and everything associated with it.The nostalgic trip down his memory lane is so profound and melancholic.
His sense of narration is so simple and gripping that makes the book unputdownable.
There were passages and anecdotes which made me smile and cry for all the different reasons.

In the middle of the book are over fifty pictures. Giving us a better understanding of his life and his loved ones. It will soak you in warmth and draw you a little closer to the person he actually is.

There are several passages from the book that touched my heart but this is my favourite.

Quote: As a boy, loneliness. As a man, solitude. The loneliness was not of my seeking. The solitude I sought. And found.

Unquote: Loneliness and Solitude are two different things. When solitude's soft power takes over, there is no room for loneliness.

There is so much to learn from this book. From his experiences to the struggles he faced. Loved this book, so quaint. Lastly, immense respect for the way he weaves magic with words.

[Tarinee · Rating 5 out of 5]

And why he writes and I read and I write for what he writes for all of you to read ?

क़तरा-क़तरा,
लम्हा-लम्हा,
जो बिखरा है
इधर-उधर
उसे सहेजना,
समेटकर रखना
मेरा ही तो काम है।
लफ़्जों में
जो फिसलते नहीं
ज़ुबां से कई बार
वो उतरे, बिखरे,
बरसे काग़ज़ पर
उस सावन की तरह
जिसका मक़सद
हरा कर देना है
मन को भी,
ख्वाबों की
बंजर ज़मीं को भी।

I don't know what I would do without a Bond book and may be these words would have never amalgated and remained in my head only to whisper in my ears , forever lost to the outside world.

His writings make me break the prison and my words bleed all colours of a rainbow.

And it's better than bleeding red.

So I trade a piece of my sea for a memoir of his mountains . I read , I cherished , I laughed and paused , vexed and perplexed and cried like a ten year old .

When I read him and I read me.. I meet myself . The mountains come closure. Life feels easier .

I know the mountains are always his and I only trespassed , a bit at times and a lot at others.

6.32784 stars of a Christmas tree and many more hidden among the pine forest of the Himalayas …to be collected only if you dare to take a walk in the roads less travelled.

[Selva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Among the best autobiographies that I have read. Written in the same simple and sweet style as his other books. He comes across as a honest, non-judgmental, and a warm person. No tall claims and is mostly peopled - though coming from diverse backgrounds - with simple people. I found many instances tugging at my heart strings and made me slightly misty, especially his relationship with his father. If you have read a lot of his non-fiction, maybe some their content might have found its way into this book. Because it had some stuff from a couple that I have read. But I feel that is only natural. Apparently, he didn't like Khushwant Singh. It is kind of understood by the reader as he doesn't get openly critical. I actually bought Mr. Singh's autobiography and I couldn't complete it as it was full of name dropping and wasn't interesting at all unless you belong to a certain vintage. Apart from that, this is peppered with words of wisdom that made a lot of sense to me but he doesn't go "you know what, life is a..." kind of mode. In short, loved it. Recommended to everyone.

[Pritika Jaiswal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does Ruskin Bond need introduction!? Born in Pre-independent India(Kasauli) to an English family, Mr. Bond has been living here since then. He is the author of over a hundred books of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. And his autobiography is his book of Books. A book full of anecdotes, warmth and gentle humour, often deeply moving with a magnificent sence of time and place - and containing personal photographs make it even more enjoyable read.

💌For a reader, it is a delightful treat to read or know about him. He is an entertainer, a charmer, a true nature enthusiast who can make his readers fall in love with natural world and everyday experience. This book is divided into four parts describing his journey as a toddler to becoming stubborn reckless adolescent and then a soul running away from his loneliness soon finds solitude within.

[Shadin Pranto · Rating 4 out of 5]

জীবন গল্প নয়। কিন্তু সময়ের কালস্রোতে যা বইতে হয় মানুষকে তা হয়তো গল্পকে হার মানায়, মানাতে পারে। বলছিলাম রাসকিন বন্ডের আত্মজীবনীর কথা। যাঁরা রাসকিন বন্ডের যাদুকরী লেখার সাথে পরিচিত, তাঁরা জানেন এই মানুষটি অত্যন্ত সাদাসিধা গল্প,উপন্যাসকেও দারুণ সুখপাঠ্য করে তুলতে পারেন। ঠিক সেই কাজটিই করেছেন "Lone Fox Dancing" নামের নিজের আত্মকথায়। সাধারণত আপন আপন জীবনের গুরুত্বপূর্ণ ঘটন-অঘটন এবং ব্যক্তিকে ঘিরেই আবর্তিত হয় আত্মজীবনী। এইক্ষেত্রে খানিকটা ব্যতিক্রম বলেই মনে হচ্ছিল রাসকিন বন্ডকে। আপাতদৃষ্টিতে অগুরুত্বপূর্ণ ঘটনার কমতি নেই পুরো বইতে। অথচ তাতেও পাঠক হিসেবে মুহূর্তের জন্য খেই হারাইনি, লাগেনি বিরক্ত। এটাকে রাসকিন বন্ডের বড় সাফল্য বলা যায় বৈকি।

জন্মেছিলেন ১৯৩৪ সালে। অবিভক্ত ভারতবর্ষে। আ্যংলো-ইন্ডিয়ান এক পরিবারে। বাবা পুরোদস্তুর আংরেজ, মা জননী ছিলেন ভারতীয় বংশোদ্ভূত। জামনগর নামের এক দেশিয় রাজ্যে নিজের বেড়ে ওঠার দিনগুলির ছবি এঁকেছেন বড়ো নিপুণ হাতে। বাবা-মায়ের বোঝাপড়াটা মনমতো হচ্ছিল না। তাই শৈশবে অভাব দেখেননি, সাক্ষী হয়েছেন পারিবারিক অসন্তোষের। এর প্রভাব শিশু রাসকিনের মানস গঠনে গভীরভাবে পড়েছিল। তাই ৮৪ বছর বয়সে বসে আপন কথা লিখতে বসা রাসকিনের বর্ণনায় ব্রিটিশ ভারতের দেরাদুন, মুসৌরির পাশাপাশি বারবার এসেছে নিজের পরিবারের অশান্তির কথা। যার একপর্যায়ে রাসকিনের বাবা-মায়ের মধ্যে ডিভোর্স হয়ে যায়। কারণ রাসকিন বন্ডের মা স্থানীয় এক স্টুডিও মালিকের সঙ্গে জড়িয়ে গিয়েছিলেন এবং তাকেই বিয়ে করেন।

মায়ের এই ঘটনা রাসকিন বন্ড কখনোই মেনে নিতে পারেননি। তাই বিমান বাহিনীর অফিসার পিতার কাছে চলে আসেন। বাবার সাথে রাসকিন বন্ডের সম্পর্ক কতখানি নিবিড় ছিল তা পাঠক হিসেবে আমার পক্ষে যতটা অনুধাবন করা সম্ভব ছিল তাতেই আমি অভিভূত। পিতৃস্নেহ কিশোর রাসকিনকে সবচেয়ে বেশি স্মৃতিকাতর করে তুলছিল। বাবা ভর্তি করে দিয়েছিলেন বিশপ কটন স্কুল নামে এক বোর্ডিং স্কুলে। স্কুল লাইব্রেরিতেই বিশ্বসাহিত্যের প্রায় সব রথী-মহারথীর বই গোগ্রাসে গিলেছেন। গড়ে তুলেছেন প্রচুর পড়বার অভ্যাস। নিজেই লিখেছেন,

' Over a year and a half, I read Dickens, Stevenson, Jack London, H.G. Wells, J.B. Priestley, the Brontës, Maugham and Ben Travers; the complete plays of J.M. Barrie and Bernard Shaw; and the essays—a form that I have always liked—of A.G. Gardiner, Belloc, Chesterton and many others. And then, of course, there were the humorous writers—Mark Twain, Thurber, Wodehouse, Stephen Leacock, Jerome K. Jerome, Barry Pain, Damon Runyon—and George and Weedon Grossmith, whose The Diary of a Nobody remains my favourite humorous book. '

তাঁর যখন বারো বছর তখন হঠাৎ একদিন বোর্ডিং স্কুলে পড়ুয়া বন্ড খবর পেলেন পৃথিবীতে তাঁর একমাত্র আপনজন বাবা মারা গেছেন। এই বেদনা পাঠক হিসেবে আমাকে প্রবলভাবে আঁকড়ে ধরেছিল। কিশোর বন্ডের নিজেকে তখন ভেবেছিলেন পৃথিবীর নিঃসঙ্গতম মানুষ। বাবার মৃত্যু শোক তিনি কোনোদিন পুরোপুরি কাটিয়ে উঠতে পারেননি, পারেননি সেই মানুষটির মতো কারো সাথে হৃদ্যতাপূর্ণ বোঝাপড়ার সম্পর্ক গড়ে তুলতে।

বাবা মারা যাওয়ার পর ফিরে এলেন মায়ের পরিবারে অর্থাৎ সৎ বাবার কাছে। রাসকিন বন্ড তার সৎ পিতাকে মোটেও পছন্দ করতেন না। বরং ঘৃণা করতেন বলেই বোধ হয়। কারণ অনেকবার এই বাবার কথা এসছে। কিন্তু ঘুণাক্ষরেও তার নাম লেখেননি। উল্লেখ করেছেন 'মিস্টার এইচ' বলে।

বাবাকে হারিয়ে পৃথিবীতে রীতিমতো নিজেকে অবাঞ্ছিত একজন বলে মনে করতেন। কেননা সেই সময়ে তার নিজের কাছের কেউ ছিল না। মা বলতে যা বোঝায় তেমন একজন বন্ডের ছিল না। সৎ বাবার পরিবারে থেকেছেন কিন্তু পরিবারের অংশ হতে পারেননি। নিজের হতে চাননি।

পাশ করার পর বিলেত চলে গেলেন। সেখানে সরকারি চাকরিও জুটিয়ে ফেললেন। প্রকাশক পেলেন নিজের প্রথম উপন্যাস 'The Room On The Roof' উপন্যাসের। অবশ্য এই উপন্যাস প্রকাশের আগে ভারতের বিভিন্ন ম্যাগাজিনে অনেক ছোটগল্প লিখেছেন। না, সাহিত্য সাধনার জন্য নয়। খেয়ে-পরে বেঁচে থাকার খরচ জোগাতে টাকার জন্য লিখেছেন, লেখেন - এই সত্য কখনো গোপন করেননি রাসকিন বন্ড।

ইংল্যান্ড আসলে ভালো লাগেনি রাসকিন বন্ডের। একঘেয়ে জীবন মনে হয়েছে তাঁর। সেখানেই প্রেমে পড়েন এক ভিয়েতনামি কন্যার। সেই মেয়েটির নাম ছিল ভু ফুং ( ভুল হলে মার্জনীয়)। ভু ফুংয়ের জন্য রাসকিনের ভালোবাসা প্রগাঢ়তা বোঝা যাবে তাঁর বর্ণনাতেই। কিন্তু ভু ফুং তাঁর হয়নি। তাঁর বিয়ে না করার অন্যতম কারণ এই অপ্রাপ্তির তা চোখ বুজে বলে দেওয়া যায়।

ভু ফুং অধ্যায়ের সমাপ্তির পর বিলেতে থাকবার কোনো কারণ খু্ঁজে পাচ্ছিলেন না রাসকিন বন্ড।ফিরে এলেন দেশে। কেন ফিরে এলেন তার উত্তর রাসকিন বন্ড নিজেই দিয়েছেন,
“ It wasn’t family that brought me back, it was the country, the land itself, and all that lived and grew upon it. It is India. “

দেশে এসে নিজের মতো থাকতে চাইলেন। চাকরিবাকরি তো করবেন না। প্রচুর লিখতে থাকলেন। তাতে যে অল্প পয়সা পেতেন তা দিয়ে জীবন চালানো খুব সহজ ছিল না, বরং কঠিনই হয়ে উঠছিল চারপাশের নানা প্রতিকূলতার হেতু।
ঘটনাক্রমে কেয়ার নামের একটি ইয়াঙ্কিভিত্তিক এনজিওতে চাকরি নেন। কেয়ার-এর সুবাদে তিব্বতি রিফিউজিদের নিয়ে কাজ করার অভিজ্ঞতা হয় রাসকিন বন্ডের। কিন্তু এনজিওটির প্রোপাগান্ডার অংশ হতে পারবেন না বলে মোটা মাইনের চাকরি ছেড়ে ফিরে গেলেন নিজের দেরাদুনে। ছোট্ট একটি কটেজ কিনলেন। সেই থেকে ৫০ বছর ধরে বাস করছেন একই কটেজে। প্রেম নামে এক গরিব পাহাড়ি যুবককে নিজের পরিবার হিসেবে গ্রহণ করেন ।সেই প্রেমের ছেলেপুলের সন্তানাদি নিয়েই এখন রাসকিন বন্ডের পরিবার। কারণ প্রেমকে দত্তক নিয়েছেন রাসকিন বন্ড। এই পরিবারটির প্রতি লেখকের অকৃত্রিম মমত্ববোধ পাঠককের দৃষ্টি এড়াবে না।
ব্যক্তিগত গল্পের ফাঁকেফাঁকে রাসকিন বন্ড নিজের সেরা লেখাগুলোর উৎস নিয়েও দু'চার কথা লিখেছেন। তা অবশ্য মনোযোগ দিয়ে না পড়লে মিস হয়ে যেতে পারে। অর্থাৎ লেখক সত্তাকে সচেতনচিত্তে নিজের আত্মজীবনীতে আসতে দিতে চাননি রাসকিন বন্ড। বড়ই অদ্ভুত!
বড্ড স্মৃতিকাতর ব্যক্তি রাসকিন বন্ড। পড়তে পড়তে কখন আপনি রাসকিন বন্ডের এই নস্টালজিয়ার শিকার হবেন তা হয়তো নিজেও বুঝতে পারবেন না !

প্রথাগত বিচারে এই আত্মকথা পাশ নাম্বার পাবে না। কারণ এমন কোনো গুহ্য কথা রাসকিন বন্ড লেখেননি যা পাঠককে রোমাঞ্চিত করবে, নেই আত্মসমালোচনার জায়গাটিও। ৮৪ বছরের জীবনকে মাত্র ২৫০+ পাতায় লিপিবদ্ধ করায় কলেবর অত্যন্ত ক্ষীণ হয়েছে এই অভিযোগ অমূলক নয়। তবু বলব রাসকিন বন্ডের ‘ Lone Fox Dancing ‘ সত্যিই সুখপাঠ্য।

[Arathi Mohan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to follow soon. Still processing the beautiful words 😌

'As I walked home last night
I saw a lone fox dancing
In the cold moonlight.

I stood and watched. Then
Took the low road, knowing
The night was his by right.

Sometimes, when words ring true,
I’m like a lone fox dancing
In the morning dew.'

This book is Ruskin Bond's autobiography. It is an essential read for every Ruskin Bond fan. It is also a comforting read for anyone who may not be familiar with his works. The author describes his life - his parents, his experience growing up in different parts of India, identifying strongly as an Indian inspite of his mixed heritage, his aspirations and struggles as a writer and as a human being. The most poignant part is his relationship with his father and the incredible sense of loneliness he felt on his father's untimely death. In his quintessential and trademark style laced with humour, wit and a keen observation of human nature, Bond takes you on a tour of his life till now. Reading this book may just give you a whole new perspective on how you look at your own life.

[Maya Amlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I'm like a shopkeeper hoarding bags full of grain, only I hoard words. There are still people who buy words, and I hope I can keep bringing a little sunshine and pleasure into their lives to the end of my days."

How is it that despite being such a popular writer in India, I have only managed to read this one book by Ruskin Bond--a writer who resides in my own state, no less? I was surprised to say the least. And to pick up an autobiography as the first book, ah, I'm not sure what my thoughts towards Mr. Bond right now are. He is a man of words, that can be said for sure. The way he charmed me throughout his autobiography (and I am a person who doesn't particularly like autobiographies, or even biographies), and made me wanting to read more, turns out he still has his charm.

Like Bond, I too grew up for a couple of years in the hills of Uttrakhand. Unlike Bond, I spent only a handful of years there. And yet, in those few months, they became a home to me. I want to spend the entirety of my latter life in those hills that I love so much. I won't be lying when I say that this book made me want to go back to those places. And to have an autobiography then, to talk so much about the land that it becomes a character of its own, and to have this land speak out to me through the words that the author chose, well, that's just a sign of very good writing, isn't it?

Even as I write this review, however, I find it very hard to form the words. How does one review something like an autobiography? How does one comment on someone's life this way? Here is a person laying himself bare for me to read through him. How do I make a remark on his work, and in turn, then, his life? And yet, there are 153 GR reviews at the time of writing (26th December, 2020).

I guess one of my favourite parts about this book was how Bond, even as an old man, captured the innocence of his childhood in such a natural manner. Some might say that he is a children's writer so he knows, but that can't only be it, isn't it? It's about how he writes what he writes that makes his work so special, and that I think is one of the best things of the entire book.

I wish, however, that the book covered a little more of his latter life. I wish it talked about his most recent years in Mussoorie, about how he gets by, about what his adopted family is like, about how all of them support each other, and more importantly, about how living in the hills of Mussoorie is like for him. I happened to visit the city back in 2017, the year this book was published. I like to think of what he would be doing at that time when I made the visit. Would he be hanging out with his family or writing on his typewriter or perhaps, if he'd be in the cafe that he is known to frequent. Guess I'll never really find out, isn't it?

[RITU MAHESHWARI · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruskin Bond has been my childhood companion. He is among those versatile authors who has written short stories, ghost stories, novels, children stories. Basically something for all the age group readers. His stories are simple, relatable and captivating. And now, his autobiography is no different.

I was completely dumbstruck by the humility and integrity with which he wrote his life story. Ruskin Bond is the king of writing but he portrayed himself as a modest and humble man who did not hide his vulnerability.

In his autobiography, Ruskin Bond pens his journey as an author. He is a well loved author with massive fan following but all the fame came after a lot of struggle. It was not an easy journey and he barely managed to make end meet. But his heart was in writing. He remained stick to it. And success came late but it did come.

Ruskin Bond is a ‘Pahari Boy” from heart. He loved mountains, trees, animals, fresh and cold breezes of hilly areas like Dehradun and Mussoorie. As a result he never liked crowded and polluted big metro city. Though as a writer there were better prospect for him in cities like Bombay, Delhi but his heart was their in mountains. And Bond is a man who listens to his heart.

Lone Fox Dancing is a lovely written autobiography. Simplicity and honesty could be seen and felt in every line of the book. Bond's writing has a soothing effect and his autobiography is inspiring. It inspires you to follow your heart and to do what you believe in.

[Vikas Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally the Lone Fox found motivation to write his story. The book does not cover his entire life especially after his shift to Mussoorie but gives interesting glimpse into his life in his early childhood and adulthood. Though Ruskin Bond;s writings have generally been autobiographical, this book brings forth facets of his life he has generally not written about in past. A must read for all Ruskin Bond's fans

[Smriti · Rating 5 out of 5]

How is this the first Ruskin Bond I ever read? This book was absolutely sublime (words I never imagined I would say for it when I saw it was in the syllabus). Beautifully enchanting writing.

[Roma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Lone Fox Dancing – My Autobiography

Author – Ruskin Bond

Length – 277 pages

Publisher – Speakingtiger

Genre – Non-fiction, Autobiography

My rating: 5/5

Summary:

The book is an autobiography of Padmashri and Padmabhushan Ruskin Bond. Book describes his growing up years, his love for reading and the inspiration for his books.

My take:

Ruskin Bond, the name brings to our mind so many amazing tales penned by him. I was elated to get this book as a part of my brunchbook hamper last year since i am fond of autiobiographies and what would have been better than that of Ruskin Bond. The book is the most honest autiobiography I’ve laid my hands on.

The book starts with his toddler days at Jamnagar where in flasback his parents love affair is described to be a very non traditional at that time. One would also love his Aayah who cuddled him and so with Osman and his stories. The book transports you in a completely different era. The differences in both the past and present too have been mentioned. The book has the reader transported to all the places author has been viz, Dehradoon, Mussurie, Delhi, Jamnagar, Shimla and London.

Book also mentions some peculiar habbits of author most intriguing one be his ability to read upside down. The separation of his parents is a sad phase. The bonding of author with his Father is adorable. You are saddened when Ruskin Bond loses his father and he has to stay with his Mother and Stepfather. In the backdrop is the phase of World War II and Partition. Many more historical events are touched upon and how the world around him was changing.

You feel so glad when author realises he’s an Indian by heart. It’s interesting to read that author himself didn’t know that his debut book was already published and he realised when he received a letter for serialisation of his book. Author also mentions to us the inspirations of his books. Since he was fond of reading, he has also mentioned various books he loved to read which I have taken as a recommendation.

The book also touches upon his crushes and his love whom he could not marry. His struggle to prove his metal in writing is worth an inspiration since he never accepted defeat after rejections. Would have loved to read his feelings when he received the Padmashri and Padmabhushan which is not a part of this biography.

I totally enjoyed this book.

[Japneet (millennial_reader) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm an agnostic- you need something higher than religion and I prefer trees and mountains. I'm not against religion- I'm not against anything, really. To each his own. If their religious ritual makes people happy, let them have it, by all means. I'm just happy being a pagan..."
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Ruskin Bond's autobiography, 'Lone Fox Dancing' has everything. It is one of India's greatest authors' life in pages. From his childhood's innocence to his adolescence's notoriety, from his aloofness to search for companionship and the choices he made, the easy and the difficult ones, from his boarding school years and life in Dehradun to spending four years in England and coming back 'home', from writing his first book, 'The Room On The Roof' to settling down in Landour, in this book Bond recounts all his experiences and his life which is nothing short of beautiful.
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Something I felt while reading this book was that an autobiography is more of a bildungsroman than anything else. While reading this book all I could think was how clever is Bond to juxtapose his own life with his imagination and present it as a thing of beauty in his stories, to his readers. My heart was filled with love for Bond for letting me and his readers be a part of his life! As the quote I used tells and if you have read you'd know Bond is quite fascinated by nature and hills. So, the landscapes he describes are so potently visual that I could picturise the scenes while reading. Another great thing about this autobiography is that the writing flows effortlessly like a river. I had an epiphany while reading this one and that is, there's a bit of Ruskin Bond in every story he writes.

[Srijan Kapoor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruskin and the deodars. I haven't failed to notice the mention of them in each of his books I have read. Beautifully written, Ruskin Bond almost makes me feel guilty of not living a life in the mountains.

[Dhwani · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5
Raw, unflinchingly raw is what this book is. I was in tears at multiple points. Wish there was a little more about his adopted family and the then current times.

[Vinayak Hegde · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely and warm book. Ruskin Bond writes in his legendary witty and playful voice, bringing a constant smile to my face and intermittent laughter as I read this delightful book. It is both irreverent and self-effacing, with a touch of sadness reflecting his lonely days in boarding school following his parents' separation. The book talks about his broken relationship with his mother and stepfather and his family and the myriad range of people that met him during his life - some short- lived and many life long friends. At different times the book has funny incidents in his playful style and at others an deep undertow of melancholy, solitude and loneliness.

Bond's love of writing and nature shines through on every page. It must have taken a lot of courage for him to bare his soul so openly. In the last part of the book, he reflects on some of his mistakes in handling relationships. Despite these personal challenges, he has been entertaining readers for more than half a century, achieving fame later in life. Towards the end of the book, he expresses how he sees himself as Indian and feels deeply contented with the love and appreciation his readers have shown him. This is a heart felt biography of a writer I deeply admire.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should have read this before picking up The Beauty of All My Days: A Memoir. This is an actual autobiography, while the other is just a stream-of-consciousness type memoir. I enjoyed it but couldn't read it too long at a stretch as there is definitely a melancholic note that runs through it. Perhaps this is caused by his parents' unhappy marriage and his subsequent difficult relationship with his mother, her second husband (or whatever) and his stepbrothers.

Bond writes good prose, though I can't say his poetry does anything for me. The snippets included here don't seem like poetry at all, not even blank verse. He can be terribly snobbish about modern technology and the modern world, which isn't really surprising when you think about it. It's amazing how he can tell us so much about his life while revealing so little about himself. Perhaps his fiction is better than his facts, as so often happens in real life.

[Arpit Batra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is perhaps the best Ruskin Bond book i’ve read. Very different from his other books. Very raw and real.

[Megha Tyagi · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I would to describe how madly I was waiting for this book- then it wouldn’t be much of an interesting story than the one how I got this book to finally read on my own. The moment I got to know it has released, I was saving money to purchase this book with hard cover. While still on my mission to save money, I found this book on my supervisor’s desk (I am PhD scholar and need to visit my supervisor for research discussions frequently) and couldn’t resist reading first few pages. I couldn’t stop myself in reading further and two weeks after that gained knowledge when my supervisor left India for an International conference, I grabbed this book and read it in one go back in my hostel room. It should without any doubt receive the best book award of 2017 or may be of this decade. The way it transported me to the 1930’s or 40’s of Dehradun or Mussoorie and then again to Delhi or my hometown Alwar, is just indescribable in mere words. The book gave a huge peek-a-boo into the glorious and astonishing life of Mr. Bond. It’s just not an autobiography but a documentation of an era from which we the millennials are quite unintroduced. The book is very conveniently divided into four parts -each part describing each phase of Mr. Bond’s life. The simplistic yet graceful manner in which he describes his childhood or coming of age story is beautiful and touches one’s heart. Specially the way when he describes the loss of his beloved father. I couldn’t stop my eyes to get little hazy while reading the lines. The other part in which he writes or rather provides a heartful guidance about lost love and the remedy to deal with it is simply heart-warming! The book makes you feel as if Mr. Bond himself is sitting beside you with a cup of a tea or coffee and telling you his life story. As a reader you feel emotional about his childhood lonely days and want to take this child and take care of him (especially after seeing the photos provided within the book pages). His schooldays at Bishop Cotton School (BCS) in Shimla provides you a glimpse of boarding school life of the then affluent families. It was as if an entirely new story was happening somewhere in the pain, war and hunger-stricken country during the early years of independence.
After reading the entire book, I wished to be transported back in the early years of India’s independence revisiting the ‘good old days’ within the same frame of cities like Delhi, Dehradun and Mussoorie. There is an instance when the readers also learn about the time it snowed in Dehradun much to the amusement of Mr. Bond’s own mother. This book will remain as one of the best book I have ever read in my short span of reading life! Thank-you Mr. Bond for giving us such a treasure to keep in our bookshelves forever. We hope to see you once again in Mussoorie at Cambridge Book Store!

[Shalini M · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the greatest regrets of my reading journey is not finding Ruskin Bond in my childhood. Where I grew up, I had very limited access to reading material beyond school library and Russian books from Mir and Raduga, and later on, my father's collection. So, even though I might have heard of Ruskin Bond during my student life, I didn't get to read one of his books until I moved to NCR for work. I fell in love with his writing, simple but delightful, and with a timeless charm. I keep on repeating myself, but I can't get over the fact that his writing makes me feel nostalgic for the times I haven't lived in, for the places I haven't been to.

I have read some of his 'Rusty' books, and also 'The Room on the Roof', which if not exactly semi-autobiographical, provide a glimpse into his early life. And I was very curious to know more about his life as a child, how and where he grew up, and how he came to spend his entire life in India. Therefore, when his autobiography came out, it went into me to-read list immediately. I purchased it a few months back, but I was in a sort of reading slump, so didn't pick it up until last week. But once I started reading it, I found it hard to put down ... it is not a keep-you-on-the-edge thriller, it is just so enchanting, that it pulls you in and keeps you there.

What I love most about his writing is, that it is simple, and the charm lies is what he tells you, and how he tells it. I don't know if anyone else has written in such a rich manner about the small hill towns ... that makes you feel that you are seeing it all with your own eyes, traveling those roads with him .... perhaps the only thing missing to make the experience complete is the cool pine-scented air. I loved his description of the life in early 1900's in the princely state of Jamnagar, in the hill towns of of Dehradoon and Shimla. He describes his troubled childhood with candor, also his grief at separation and loss of his father; it is heartbreaking, but because you feel empathy for that lonely child, not because he wallows in self-pity as he writes it. I also found a new insight into the lives of British people at the time of Indian Independence ... many of them also suffered - as usual, the poorest of them, who had spent all their lives in India, had rarely or never been to England, and now were left with no means and no country of their own. Through his words, you can see the changing life through almost a century, his own circumstances from privilege to poverty to struggle to well-deserved fame, the changing face of hill stations and the benefits as well as the cost of development.

He turned down the chance of a comfortable life in England, and quit a well-paying job in Delhi, to follow his dream. He remained a struggling writer for many decades, but the world is definitely richer for it.

[Ayati · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read a lot of Ruskin Bond books since last year, I enjoyed reading his autobiography too. Especially those parts in which he described some incident which led him to write a certain story. He eloquently described the longing he felt for India, which resulted in his first novel, his very first book, The Room on the Roof. He poignantly described how the partition of India separated him from many of his friends. The second part was both pleasant and poignant. It left me overwhelmed, smiling at one moment and teary-eyed at the other. I annotated a lot in this book, probably because there were a lot of lines in this book, which made me feel better. I had been always curious about Ruskin Bond's adopted family, I wanted to know more about it. In the last part, I got my answers.

The epilogue was extremely overwhelming. In the epilogue, Ruskin Bond mentions how he had to pay the enhanced foreigner's fee to enter a temple, because apparently Ruskin Bond looked like a foreigner and not an “Indian”. While a Sikh gentleman who was born in Birmingham, UK, was allowed inside as he was “Indian”. Well, I think, nationality is decided by the place of birth and not how a person looks. Of-course, the Sikh gentleman is of an Indian descent, while Ruskin Bond is of a British descent, but that Sikh gentleman is a citizen of UK and Ruskin Bond is a citizen of India, isn't it? Another thing that I noticed in this book was how Ruskin Bond has been dismissed as an Indian, just because he couldn't speak Hindi well. Actually, a lot of South Indians don't speak Hindi too, so will you argue that they are not “Indian”? It's a long argument, so I'll just leave it here, it's up to your interpretation.

The next thing which I liked in the book were the pictures. I loved them! The writing style wasn't dull at any point, it has the power to keep the reader captivated until the end. I loved the passages where Ruskin Bond talked about his pets, animals and birds, trees, nature. This book moved me in a lot of ways and has left me overwhelmed. I can't describe how much I loved this book.

Recommended to Ruskin Bond fans and in general, everybody!

[Rajat TWIT · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have read any of the stories by Ruskin Bond, either in course book or his novels-collections, then you already know the tone of this autobiography. Most of the works written by Bond till date is either semi-autobiographical or observation around his world. So no wonder this book has the same enchanting and entertaining world of Ruskin Bond.
The book starts with the stories of Jamnagar where the toddler Ruskin was raised by Aayah who had a life-long impression on him, both personal and method of story-telling. Then the journey goes through his teens in Dehra, Delhi, again to the hills, Hostel, England and comes back to the Himalayas of India. He keeps exploring his writing meanwhile and starts his secluded life, content with nature and bare minimal resources. In the due course of time, he meets many friends, acquaintances and has quirky tales about everything. And simultaneously we get to see the nature love of Bond, his adopted pets and then his adopted family. The best moments of the books are the details and exploration of Bond with nature.
Bond has tried to show all the important phases of his life. The pictures provided help to imagine what his life used to be like during different time eras from 1930s till nineties. To the most part of it, Bond is honest and shares all the details including one true love that he had and the passionate moments he spent with her. Also the Viatnamese girl in England for whom he got very serious. But then, he has mentioned that there are few stories of his life that he has not revealed which may be a disappointment to few.
As an autobiography, this Bond work is an excellent reading with eclectic mixture of a vagrant, learner, inquisitive mind and a stubborn individual. A must read for the Bond lovers, I mean Ruskin Bond lovers, and a refreshing language and expressions for those who have not, or have read few works, of Ruskin Bond. Go ahead and take a plunge in the world of pot-bellied uncle called Ruskin Bond.

[Prashant Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read book if you are a Bond fan or enjoy reading his books. The great thing about this book is that it does not feel heavy like an Autobiography, and is an easy and interesting read. The readers are also treated to many rare photographs of his growing up years.

Instead of writing to impress, by mentioning so-called important people or important events, or trying to shock us, Mr Bond has written about ordinary events that formed his life and people that matter to him:

- his family (his beloved daddy/mother/siblings/granny/aunt/stepfather),
- his friends (Somi/Haripal/Azhar & four-feathers/Kamal),
- his growing up years in boarding schools (BCS) and back home for holidays,
- his teachers (Mr Jones, the PT teacher),
- his struggle to fit in plains (England/Delhi/Bombay),
- his job (CARE/Imprint),
- his pets (Suzie),
- his love for Indian food and tea
- his love interests (Vu/Sushila),
- his neighbors, caretaker & landlady (Miss Bean/Mrs. Kennedy/Bibiji),
- his editor and her influence in his writing (Diana Athill),
- his adopted family and grandchildren (Prem/Chandra/Mukesh/Rakesh & co.),
- his struggles to earn enough money from writing,
- his love for nature and his long walks,
- the view from his cottage,
- mountains/streams/birds and their callings/leopards,
- his life in Mussoorie/Dehra,
- the two cottages where he has spent most of his life (Maplewood/Ivy Cottage),
- his like for solitude,
- above all his love for putting pen to paper.

He also reveals how the idea for some of his popular books like Time Stops at Shamli, The Night Train to Deoli, Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra, came to him.

He is a quiet and passionate man of nature and has lots of grace which comes across throughout the book.

Lots of Love and Respect!

[Byju.V · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the autobiography of the favorite author of generations of readers. Ruskin Bond's life has been the fodder for much of his stories. Yet the book manages to inform and entertain the reader. It is a personal story. The story of the lonely journey of an almost-abandoned child through life against all odds. Ruskin Bond was born to an english man and an anglo Indian woman. His parents separated in his infancy, and his father passed away much too early. He was on his own after that. On completing school, he went to England to try his luck as a writer but his nostalgia for home called him back to India. For him, India is home. He has been writing for the last six decades. The book touches upon public figures and other writers only lightly. It is mainly about other human beings, simple in their ambitions and modest in their success. Here, we would discover another world of the white men and women who worked hard for sustenance in this country. They did not see this as a colony, for them, this was their country. Bond's trade mark wit shines through the pages of the book. But the one thing this book lacks is the story of his success as a writer. It is a story of Ruskin Bond, the man rather than Ruskin Bond the writer.