Fans and admirers of Ruskin Bond, the beloved author of Doon and Mussoorie, were in for a treat when he came into a quaint and beautiful café (design studio) in Rajpur village in the Doon valley on Saturday evening to release his latest work titled “Words from the Hills”. Girls from Doon Girls’ School, teachers, writers and many admirers turned up at the informal event held far from the madding crowd.
Bond, in a relaxed mood, spoke to all at length and interacted with the students. He shared details of his life in Mussoorie and the Doon valley with the audience of avid readers.
The book, published by Penguin, was made available at the venue by Bookworld, Dehradun.
Gunjan Ahlawat has designed the cover of the book as well as done the entire art work for the illustrated journal. This is the fourth book of Bond to be released this year. It has illustrations and word descriptions of his favourite things, special moments and memories from several years. Pictorially, it is a delightful work besides having the usual beauty and profundity of Bond’s writing. It has blank spaces and looks like a diary—to be filled in by readers if they wish to do so.
Ahlawat said on the occasion that while having a casual conversation with Bond in Delhi, this idea evolved that he should make illustrations for all the emotions, places and things Bond has been close to in life. Ahlawat then made visits to Bond’s home in landour to go through his letters and journals.
The event was held at Alaya Design Studio. It was a quiet and relaxed evening where each member of the audience could speak to the author and have his or her queries answered by him. Just the way a book launch function should be held. It had an air of seriousness despite being informal. A perfect evening with a wonderful writer. At a beautiful venue.