Train to Pakistan
Summary
Mano Majra is a place, Khushwant Singh tells us at the beginning of this classic novel, where Sikhs and Muslims have lived together in peace for hundreds of years. Then one day, at the end of the summer, the "ghost train" arrives, a silent, incredible funeral train loaded with the bodies of thousands of refuges, bringing the village its first taste of the horrors of the civil war. Train to Pakistan is the story of this isolated village that is plunged into the abyss of religious hate. It is also the story of a Sikh boy and a Muslim girl whose love endures and transcends the ravages of war.
©1956, 2018 Khushwant Singh (P)2018 Random House Audio
Time Stops at Shamli
Summary
Ruskin Bonds simple characters, living amidst the lush forests of the Himalayan foothills, are remarkable for their quiet heroism, courage and grace, and age-old values of honesty and fidelity. Residents of nondescript villages and towns, they lead lives that are touched by natural beauty as well as suffering - the loss of a loved parent, unfulfilled dreams, natural calamities, ghostly visitations, a respected teacher turned crooked, strangers who make a nuisance of themselves - which only reinforces their abiding faith in God, family, and neighbour. Told in Bonds distinctive style, these stories are a magnificent evocation of an India that may be fast disappearing.
©1989, 2018 Ruskin Bond (P)2018 Random House Audio
The Room on the Roof
Summary
A classic coming-of-age story which has held generations of fans spellbound Rusty, a 16-year-old Anglo-Indian boy, is orphaned, and has to live with his English guardian in the claustrophobic European part in Dehra Dun. Unhappy with the strict ways of his guardian, Rusty runs away from home to live with his Indian friends. Plunging for the first time into the dream-bright world of the bazaar, Hindu festivals and other aspects of Indian life, Rusty is enchanted...and is lost forever to the prim proprieties of the European community. This special edition marks the 60th anniversary of this award-winning book, written when the author was just 17. Poignant, heart-warming and an absolute classic, this book is forever a joy to read.
©1956, 2016 Ruskin Bond (P)2018 Random House Audio
The Best of Ruskin Bond
Summary
This volume brings together the best of Ruskin Bonds prose and poetry. For over four decades, by way of innumerable novels, essays, short stories, and poems, the author has mapped out and peopled a unique literary landscape. This anthology has selections from all of his major books and includes the classic novella Delhi Is Not Far.
©2016 Ruskin Bond (P)2019 Random House Audio