Spotting Bond on a Rainy Day
By PRABEER SIKDAR
MUSSOORIE 29 Jun 2008:
It was a normal foggy evening on Mussoorie's Mall Road, when everything was moving at a snail's pace, honking vehicles looking for a way in the clogged streets, tourists taking a leisurely stroll and salespersons attracting their attention through their high-pitched tones.
And then happens the unexpected. It starts raining and everybody runs for cover. Though there were an odd couple or two, who, unlike others and unmindful of the icy waters from out of the blue, chose to carry on with their green sightings.
Rains not only spoil the pleasant sightseeing itinerary of the travelers, but also make some petty businessmen turn green with envy.
While most nature lovers, who blissfully forgot to get their umbrellas along, thronged ice-cream parlours and restaurants for a hot cuppa, a few bookworms 'crawled' inside a book store, where Bond was already waiting to pick them off.
Come every Saturday, the portly figure of Author Ruskin Bond can be seen at the Cambridge Book Store sipping hot tea and obliging autograph hunters.
Opened in 1952, just two years after Bond finished his schooling, he fondly savours the nostalgia of this place. "I still remember buying Agatha Christie's 'Death on the Nile' in 1965 for Rs 3 from this store," says the creative writer strolling down memory lane, while having a cup of tea.
Thanks to Bond's voracious appetite for words in black and white, the store has remained in business. "Bond is a loyal patron of our book shop and his presence provides readers a chance to interact with him," states 85-year-old LD Arora, the owner of the shop.
Unfazed by tourists and their accompanying children, who keep pestering him for autographs, he revels showing his funny side to all the visitors. "His mere two hours presence at the shop sells about 50-100 books every Saturday," discloses Sunil Arora, the owner's son and personal friend of Bond.
When Jalandhar's Vandana and Delhi's Shelly Jain hurriedly purchased Bond's books to get them signed, an avid soccer lover opted for his autograph on a Ronaldo picture. "I am also a Ronaldo fan," reveals the story-teller later, while trying to catch soap bubbles blown by playful children in the shop.
Clad in a red jumper, the ageing writer still retains his loyal readers, who seem to keep increasing by the day. His latest work 'Book of Humour' is reportedly doing well.
"He has an elephant's memory," recalls a lady from Delhi, who had last met Bond 21 years ago during a visit to the hill town as a student of St Thomas' School and now seen getting a couple of Bond's books autographed for her children.
Funnily, when the poor weather dampened Arora's business, it was a good time for writers, points out Bond giving slight heartburn to his friend. But how would he walk up to his Landour home without an umbrella?
Ergo, went the shop assistant and came with a bunch of colourful umbrellas. And Bond selected the obvious – the blue umbrella. Was that meant for Biniya – the 11 year old girl and the protagonist of his famous story 'The Blue Umbrella'?
Well, nobody knows.
(But as it turned out later, Bond's beloved Blue Umbrella had a gaping hole and it had to be replaced. Bad luck Bond).
No comments:
Post a Comment