Book Review : 'Vagrants in the Valley' by Ruskin Bond

Ruskin Bond’s ‘Vagrants in the Valley’ is a true classic. It does take off from its prequel, ‘The Room on the Roof’, but they have their own places in my head. :)

 

Rusty, a boy of 17 is all set to take off on another of his ‘misadventurous’ times. A teenager and his friend, walking among the hills, is exactly what I wanted to read about. It takes the ups and downs of living a life of a boy, who wanted to be a writer. 

From Hardwar, you cannot miss the sleep, the two travelers manage to catch in the dorms or the ticketless travels on the trains after only singular meals across the hills, up north. Through the book, Rusty and Kishen are in the middle of another ‘series’ beginning, when you catch the two of them, having baths in the streams and landing up in a dilapidated old church.

The interesting encounters he has with an American, and the famous lafunga (loafer), and the lady with the hookah, and his father’s old friend, a Mr Pettigrew, also the kind of famous wrestler, Hathi and of course the dumb boy, known simply as Goonga, who used only three letters to describe anything or everything, and those were ‘Goo’.

Do not miss the unknown aunt either, in this book and definitely not all the adventures Rusty goes through to find the books, left behind by his father, especially, ‘Alice in Wonderland’. And the odd highs he finds himself in, when he is made to have the odd alcohol trips. Of course, Rusty's no drunkard!

The trip from Hardwar to Dehra and finally to Rishikesh is not the end,

Ruskin Bond from Wikipedia

because you do not want to miss Rusty’s trip to England after this. That’s in another book… :)

 

The best thing about this book, is the nostalgia, you can feel in it. Then of course, you are always wondering if you would ever have the adventures that keep on happening.  The book is beautiful, and literally drags you in, and allows you to walk along the stream, and enjoy the solitary longings of the beautiful hills…

Of course, Tom Alter's introduction should get you, right on the path. 

You can Buy the Book, right here.