3 Review(s)

This is a set of two stories by Ruskin Bond, and the stories are built around the same characters. Summary Of The Book The first novel, Room on the Roof, starts with Rusty running away from home. Rusty is an English boy, who grows up in a closed, dwindling European community in Dehradun. Sixteen-year-old Rusty begins to feel suffocated by his guardian and the constraints of the isolated community, so he leaves home. On the road and travelling alone, Rusty befriends many Indian boys like Somi, Sudheer, and Ranbir. Together, they share many adventures. Rusty teaches English to young Kishen, the son of Mr. Kapoor and his lovely wife Meena. They give Rusty a room for himself in their house. The story continues in the second novel, Vagrants in The Valley. In this novel, Kishen joins Rusty in his adventures as Rusty is again forced to take to the road. Eventually, Kishen goes back to his relatives, while Rusty meets Mr. Pettigrew, his father’s friend, who becomes his guide and mentor. Rusty and his friends start out as free spirits, enjoying life as it comes, but eventually they grow, learn, and realize their true responsibilities. About Ruskin Bond Ruskin Bond is one of the most popular Indian writers of British descent. He has written many novels, including 30 books for kids. Other books by Ruskin Bond include The Blue Umbrella, School Days, Secrets, The Best of Ruskin Bond: Delhi Is Not Far, The Kashmiri Storyteller, The India I Love, and The Night Train at Deoli. Ruskin Bond was born in 1934 in Kasauli, in the Solan District of Himachal Pradesh. He went to live with his grandmother in Dehradun after his father’s death. He did his schooling at Bishop Cotton School, and later lived in London for four years. There, he wrote his first novel, The Room On The Roof, which is a semi-autobiographical story. This book won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. Ruskin Bond came back to India, eventually settled down in Mussoorie, and started working as a freelance writer. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Our Trees Still Grow In Dehra in 1992. He was awarded the Padma Shri in recognition of his contribution to the development of children’s literature in India.