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RUDYARD KIPLING |
| Kim One of the particular pleasures of reading Kim is the full range of emotion, knowledge, and experience that Rudyard Kipling gives his complex hero. Kim O'Hara, the orphaned son of an Irish soldier stationed in India, is neither innocent nor victimized. Raised by an opium-addicted half-caste woman since his equally dissolute father's death, the boy has grown up in the streets of Lahore: In the meantime, Kim amuses himself with intrigues, executing "commissions by night on the crowded housetops for sleek and shiny young men of fashion." His peculiar heritage as a white child gone native, combined with his "love of the game for its own sake," makes him uniquely suited for a bigger game. And when, at last, the long-awaited colonel comes along, Kim is recruited as a spy in Britain's struggle to maintain its colonial grip on India. Kipling was, first and foremost, a man of his time; born and raised in India in the 19th century, he was a fervid supporter of the Raj. Nevertheless, his portrait of India and its people is remarkably sympathetic. Yes, there is the stereotypical Westernized Indian Babu Huree Chander with his atrocious English, but there is also Kim's friend and mentor, the Afghani horse trader Mahub Ali, and the gentle Tibetan lama with whom Kim travels along the Grand Trunk Road. The humanity of his characters consistently belies Kipling's private prejudices, and raises Kim above the mere ripping good yarn to the level of a timeless classic. .....The Book flung me into colonial India with all its native intrigue and wonder. We follow the journeys of an eleven year old boy,Kim or "Friend of all the World", a white brought up among the natives. We watch him travel around India with an old lama who becomes something like a fatherto KIm. The book is jam-packed with characters that will dazzle you but that are still believable. People complain of the jargon Kipling uses; to me it was an added beauty, it made the atmosphere more tangible. Another thing I loved was the habit Kipling has of inserting verses before some chapters.At first you might not understand the relevance of the verse but the time you've finished the chapter you'll get it. This is a book that deserves to be respected, but also to be actally thought about, too.You have to have a certain amount of patience. Once you get over that, this book will enthrall you. |
RUSKIN BOND |
The Night Train at Deoli and Other Stories ...through the eyes of master writer Ruskin Bond. The gentle pace of life in the hills is a characteristic of its peoples - gentle, compassionate yet like all others in their human differences. Simple yet deep sketches of these people are the hallmark of each of these short stories ...depicting pain, poignant moments, desire, avarice, love, compassion, innocence...some of the characters are so genuinely simple to draw at the hearrtstrings of our emotions - just for their plain humanness.A book worth reading...and re-reading when you get overdosed with the fast paced commercialism of today. Retreat to a quiet spot with this and randomly pick up any story ... you will emerge refreshed !! I found this book by chance in Karacht years ago and I was really deeply moved by the wonderful stories written by Mr Bond. Most of my students also find the stories charming and touching. If I had to keep only one book for the rest of my life, this of course is the ONE. This book is one in a million and is a ray of light in our material world. The Panther Moon Night Stop at Shamli and other Stories Penguin Book of Indian Railway Stories HOME PREVIOUS NEXT indianbooks@indiatimes.com |
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