Why Ruskin Bond is completely worthy of being named one of the ‘People of the Year’

Contributors to the qualitative richness of Indian literature are many and varied. Ruskin Bond is one amongst these well-known contributors, and it’s a huge honour for us – his fans – to see him being fêted by the Limca Book of Records, as a part of its ‘People of the Year’ awards. 

Bond’s literary panache is unique and second to none, and has captivated many a childhood. Every character that Bond created – and still does – remains in the memory for a long time. From youngsters to adults, everyone has their particular favourites.
 

There is never any vagueness about Bond’s works. He has an incomparable ability to craft concrete fantasy worlds that get you fully immersed in them. His settings enrich the imaginations of everyone delving into their depths. Each character is extremely well fleshed out, and the flow of the plot keeps you hooked, right from the first page till the last. 

Northern India was Bond’s chosen location on which he based a majority of his stories. But in every book, there was always something new that he presented before the world. A glimpse of a world so pure and glorious, that spectacular imageries kept being created and re-created by minds. 

Book readers and lovers talk about connecting with authors through their books. Each of Bond’s books has established a strong bridge between him and his audience, and it is a connection that continues to flourish across generations. 

Personally, having been an avid reader of Bond’s works – partly inspired by my parents’ recollections of exploring his books, and partly fuelled by my own inclinations – it proved to be hugely advantageous for me when a passage from one of his renowned works turned up in the English paper of my higher secondary certificate preliminary exam. Needless to say, having already devoured through the book, the questions asked about the passage became easy to answer and when the results came out, I had secured the highest marks in my class. My teacher also made a special mention of my answers to the questions asked in the passage, which was the perfect icing to the cake. 

Even today, I make it a point to thumb through Bond’s books when I feel the pangs of my lost childhood. And the moment I do that, the memories come hurtling back along with the plotlines, which remain as invigorating as they were when I first read them. I am sure there must be many others who would be doing the same, regularly taking a sliver out of their childhood recollections containing the chapters enriched by Ruskin Bond. 

As Mr. Bond is recognized by the Limca Book of Records, now is as good a time as any for us readers, scattered far and wide, to express our heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Bond.

Football and its Inescapable Chasm

Football – soccer, to those following the American version– players are highly distinct from the rest of the sporting fraternity. They play as a part of a team – be it a national squad or a club – but somehow are well-known and specifically picked, for their singularity and individuality than their ability to play as a mere component of their team unit. 

  

It’s no wonder then the criteria of wants and requirements of in national teams and clubs are widely disparate, leaving the players at times, at a huge disadvantage despite their otherwise well-documented talents on the playing ground. 

 

It’s no secret that every footballer comes with a use-by date. The methodologies applied to oust the player change, but the concept is a constant impervious to time and players’ reputations. Footballers representing their national teams are often quietly cast aside and replaced with younger blood as age catches upon on them. It’s however at the club level that one gets to see the core mercenary nature of the sport. 

Prevalent as there are many footballers who have the distinctness of playing of one club throughout their professional career, there are just as many who keep moving from one club to another; as if being tugged by the lure of ostensibly extravagant fees. And there are those few, elite ones, who want to be at their club of choice and are yet forced to look for other options to extend their career because their club doesn’t want them anymore. 

This last aspect is thus quite confusing when put into context with the fact that when players stick around with a club, refuting all offers of better pay and wages from other distinguished clubs, why is the club unable offer them something back in return? Not any kind of pitiful offering, but a genuine opportunity for the players to try and get as dignified an exit as possible. 

It’s also this facet of club football which makes loyalty a mockery. The club’s an institution, standing tall against the ravages of defeat and despair. However, it’s the players who push the clubs to the heights they attain. And players – irrespective of the whys and hows of each one may have come about to play in a club – aren’t without underlying loyalties. If only, the clubs would extend the favour back...