THE YELLOW UMBRELLA

by Ruskin Bond

‘What should he be like, this lost man? A romantic, a man with a dream, a man with brown skin and blue eyes, living in a hut on a snowy mountaintop… a man who owed allegiance to no one… who was his own master, who lived at one with nature knowing no fear. But that was not Major Roberts—that was the man I wanted to be.’
It is believed that the foundation of every good relationship—platonic or otherwise—is friendship. The familiarity and ease that grow in friendships is what get many of us through a hard day. But it is not just the long-lasting associations that help us through life; it is also the acquaintances that we collect along the way. People are a sum of parts—of ephemeral yet significant encounters, and enduring and monumental intimacies. What makes a person whole is all the parts of themselves— good, wonderful, bad, ugly. In The Yellow Umbrella , with the story titled the same that has never appeared in print before, Ruskin Bond takes us down memory lane with nuggets from his past. The parts that made him who he unattainable love, intriguing friends, sturdy companions and books that help us through a rainy day.

126 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 5, 2022

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

[Tanvi Tiwari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories are good and heartwarming and some are boring.. But it is an ok book

[Aruna Kumar Gadepalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology with 9 pieces that touch various emotions.

[Harshith J. V. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not great collection of anecdotes from the books I've read recently by Ruskin Bond. Contains recollection of past experiences. This book is skippable by even hard-core Ruskin Bond fans.

[Shuv · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful heart warming story about kindness begetting kindness.

[Ananya Basak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rusty and his books—my forever companion. ❤️

A beautiful book with beautiful short stories and an equally beautiful cover photo. Loved every line of this book.

🔸"Reminiscing is often how we keep our personal histories alive. By collecting tokens of a time long past—letters sent to us by friends, parents and ex-lovers, a single pressed flower in a teenager's diary, a card sent by a grandparent, movie ticket stubs—we create our own museums of history. These remind us of who we used to be, and can often serve as reminders of who we wanted to be."

🔸"I do nearly all my writing at this window seat. The trees watch over me as I write. Whenever I look up, they remind me that they are there. They are my best critics. As long as I am aware of their presence, I can try to avoid the trivial and the banal."

🔸"Our hill scorpions and centipedes are not as dangerous as those found in the plains, and probably the same can be said for the people."

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