3 Review(s)

The Landour Cookbook, edited and introduced by Ruskin Bond and Ganesh Saili, is a book that offers a glimpse of over a hundred years of hillside cooking. Summary of the Book In the 1920s, Mrs. Lucas, wife of the pastor of Kellogg Church in Landour joined Irene Parker, the wife of Allen Parker, principal of Woodstock School, to form a Reading Club. They met every week at the new Community Centre and soon created a cookbook, sharing their favourite recipes from the homes of the others living in the hillside. First published in the year 1930, the book was not just a precious collection of tried and tested recipes, but also an unfailing guide to homemaking, with domestic hints, facts and figures on nutrition, and cooking procedures at places located at high altitudes. There were no refrigerators and ovens on stove tops at the time, and hence a lot of practical information about alternative methods were included. Most of the recipes had the name, sometimes only the initials of the contributor. So, if you always loved Mrs. Rice’s Coffee Cake you would know all about her recipe! The Landour Cookbook remains a useful and charming cookbook even after decades, and contains the secret recipes of so many families that made the picturesque Landour their home. About the Authors Ruskin Bond was born in Himachal Pradesh, India. He is the recipient of the most honorary Indian awards like the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and the Sahitya Akademi Award among other honours. His contribution to children’s literature in India is specially recognized by the Indian Council for Child Education. His autobiography is Rain in the Mountains. Scenes from a Writer’s Life also talks about the young Ruskin. Some of his books are adapted as films and TV series, which have won awards. Garland of Memories, Rain in the Mountain-Notes from the Himalayas, A Face in the Dark and Other Hauntings, Vagrants in the Valley and Other Poems, and Once upon a Monsoon Time are some of his other works. Ganesh Saili has done some picture books which Ruskin. He has compiled, Ruskin, Our Enduring Bond, a quaint out-of-focus pictorial biography of his author friend.