When two authors who belong to the Himalayas begin talking about their love for these majestic mountains the audiences are treated to thoughts and views that leave them enraptured.
The Doon valley witnessed a wonderful literary session last evening where literature lovers of the city had the rare occasion to interact with authors Ruskin Bond, Namita Gokhale and Nayantara Sahgal. It was a rather special occasion where Bond released Gokhale’s latest book “ Things to leave Behind” which is a historical novel against the backdrop of Kumaon .
However, the evening was about much more than just the release of this book. It created an atmosphere of intellectual interaction that was enriching for all those who were present.
Both Bond and Namita Gokhale spoke of their love for the hills. Bond said that he had made landour in Mussooorie his home half a century ago and had “just forgot to go away”. He said that as he gets older and drawn into more and more literary festivals, he has to leave his home in the hills frequently which he never did earlier.”That is quite ironic, I think”.
He said that once a person begins living in the hills , there was no escape for him or her. “The mountains get into one’s blood”.
Namita Gokhale, who grew up in Nainital , said that though she had spent a lot of years in big cities after that, she could never forget the mountains. “Even when I go to other countries and visit the hills there, I keep trying to compare them with the Himalayas,” she said. She said when she visited Bhutan, she felt that every part of the Himalayas had a different and distinct personality. “I am drawn to mountains everywhere.” Many of her works are based in the mountains while some are based in the cities. “My next novel is based in a city,” she said. However, she was quick to add that she would again write about the mountains –“the hills always call me back”.
Dr B K Joshi of Doon library and Research Centre which organized the evening said that he was extremely happy that Gokhale had come to Doon to release her book. He also expressed his thanks to Bond and Neeta Gupta of Yatra Books.
Gupta said that Ruskin Bond , who was recently at the literature festival in Guwahati, had agreed to come for this book release function in Doon while they were on a boat ride on the Brahmaputra!
Set in the years 1840 to 1912, Things to leave Behind chronicles the mixed legacy of the British Indian past and the emergence of a fragile modernity ,illuminated with painstaking detail. This novel is the final one in Namita’s trilogy. .. the first one was “A Himalayan love Story” and the second was “The Book of Shadows”. Things to leave Behind is the intertwined story of Tilottama Uprety ,whose uncle is hanged during the “Mutiny”, her troubled daughter Deoki ,missionary Rosemary Boden and Deoki’s husband, Jayesh Jonas.The book is dedicated “to the all-seeing goddess, Naina Devi, and my beloved grandmother, Shakuntla Pande”.
Both Bond and Gokhale read out extracts from the book during the evening that stretched away as people of Doon interacted with Bond, Namita Gokhale, Neeta Gupta and Nayantara Sahgal who graced the occasion specially with her dignified presence. Sahgal is a renowned author who has been residing in Dehra Dun for a very long time now.
The Doon library and Research Centre has been organizing literary events of a high standard in Dehra Dun over the past few years , contributing greatly to strengthening the love for reading in the valley.