Ruskin Bond’s Favourite Nature Stories

Ruskin Bond is one of the most famous writers who has been loved by kids as well as adults. Majority of people have started reading in childhood with his books. In his books, nature always remains prevalent. The way he describes the beauty of nature is worth admirable.

One of the most important things about why nature finds a special position in his books, is that he has grown up and lived among the beautiful mountains. He has find himself much closer to trees, sky, birds, etc.

I also have this immense love for nature. Living in a metro city like Delhi, which is also considered as one of the most polluted cities, it is not very easy to spot clear sky. But whenever I find anything beautiful happening in sky, I cannot resist myself from staring it (and capturing it). Seeing sunsets while coming home at evening, looking at beautiful flowers, leaves, birds, etc. are some of the things which give me extreme pleasure.

While we are in lockdown from more than one month, the pollution level has reduced. We are experiencing cleanest air ever in ten years. Sky looks absolutely beautiful. People have even got the time to watch sunsets and sunrises from their balconies and terrace. In many parts of the world, many reforms in nature have been found.

Humankind took over the earth from the dinosaurs, who perished due to natural upheavals and dramatic climate changes. We could go the same way , as we have proved to be bad tenants with little or no regard for the natural world that we have inherited.

I have recently read this book “My Favourite Nature Stories” by Ruskin Bond. This book was published on his 82nd birthday. In this book he has told some stories about his favourite things from nature. He has mentioned various instances where he found nature helping him in a difficult situation. He even talks about how nature gave him inspiration to write.

In the first story, he talks about Maple wood and Oaks which were near his cottage. He describes their beauty and how they became the habitat for many birds, beetles, etc. He had spent many summer days on his window, looking at the forest behind the cottage and writing poetry. He recalls when he was leaving that cottage, many trees were being cut for constructing roads. He feels upset about disappearance of the forest and the cottage.

He talks about his love for mountains. Wherever he went, he always returned to the mountains.

Once you have lived with mountains, there is no escape. You belong to them.

I have never been to mountains. *sad truth* But I have this hidden urge to settle there. I feel the people who live at mountains to be so fortunate.

Ruskin Bond talks about a bird known as “Barbets.” He talks about the monotonous sound produced by them. Many people decipher its various meanings. There is even a tale associated with them.

Waking up with the chirping of birds is the best thing ever. I find to be the best alarm. But it a rare thing in cities because most of the birds have extincted.

My most favourite story was the one in which Ruskin Bond talks about his favourite things. Some of them are: Sea-shells, jackfruit tree outside is Dehradun’s house, smell of certain leaves, smell of sea, fogs, etc.

He talks about various trees with some memories from his childhood. Deodars have inspired him to write a poetry.

In one of the chapters, he has described one most famous place from the old Delhi – Lal Kuan (the red well). He talks about the pigeons. His description was clearly visible in front of my eyes because this the place where I live.

Pigeons are really such amazing birds. You would never know when they will nest in you home. In Delhi, there are many places where you would find flock of pigeons. I feel so curious to observe them.

This picture has been captured at one of the busiest places of Delhi – Connaught Place. This place is empty these days, but I am sure pigeons would be still there.

Ruskin Bond talks about ferns, flowers, snakes and flowers. I liked how he has even added biological names of few flowers.

But I am no botanist. I prefer to be the butterfly, perfectly happy in going from flower to flower in search of nectar.

In one of the chapters, he says that if you have got a beautiful sight outside your window, then you are the luckiest. He loves sky and feels fascinated towards it. Sky is absolutely a kind of wonder. You can see various paintings there. Sky can be found different colours every time. It has a story to tell.

The sky is never the same. Even when it’s cloudless, the sky colours are different. The morning sky, the daytime sky, the evening sky, the moonlit sky, the starry sky, there are all different skies.

There is this beautiful story in which he has described one incident from his childhood. He has heard of a river behind the mountain and little Ruskin embarks on his solo expedition to the river without even informing his parents.

There are many such stories in this book. If you also feel connected to nature or find solace in reading about it, then you must read this one. It is a perfect book to read during this lockdown. You will find yourself in mountains and forests without even stepping out.

This book is currently free on Amazon Kindle. Check it out here

I hope you would have liked this. Please share in comments how you find pleasure in nature.

I have written this post for #AtoZChallenge and my theme is “Love for the books”

*All the pictures used in this post are clicked by me.