REVIEW
Travelling tales
NIMI KURIAN
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Light and witty, this is a travelogue like no other.
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Tales of the Open Road; Ruskin Bond, Penguin, Rs. 200
LORRIES in India are unique — for the art and the messages they carry. "OK Tata" proclaims one, and Ruskin Bond says it is wise to keep your distance. Bond's Tales of the Open Road is like no other travelogue, simply because he has seen what others do not and more importantly been where others have not. This travelogue is wide-ranging, rich in humour and in understanding the Indian cities and villages, the people, the cars, the bullock carts, the lorries. Everything fascinates him and everything is worthy of mention. And in his inimitable style, takes the reader along with him.
Confession
The book is divided into four sections — The Open Road, Plain Tales, At Home in the Hills and Into the Mountains. At the very beginning he has a confession to make: "For 40 years I have been content living a life of modest excitements in Mussoorie. The world drives up here in season, for holidays and honeymoons, so I rarely feel the need to go down to the busy plains." But when forced to move his favoured mode of transport is the sturdy Ambassador car, and if you have travelled in one, you will agree with him. Nostalgically he remembers the changes that have taken place on the highway to Delhi. He enjoys the countryside, the occasional glimpse of wildlife and, of course, the company of the driver.
Bond's fascination with travel and adventure began early. While at school, he and his friend Daljit decide to run away to get to his Uncle Jim's ship in Jamnagar, Gujarat. But probably, the most interesting aspect of his escapade is the meeting with the dhabawala near the outskirts. They think they are the first to ever try running away from school. The dhabawala gives them tea and after some small talk he says, "At first I thought you were schoolboys. I thought you were running away." To which Daljit asks, "What made you think that?" The dhabawala replies, "Oh, I've been here many years. Schoolboys always pass this way when they're running away!"
In Plain Tales, he talks of the buses that ply the roads to Tehri and Pipalkoti. The roads are narrow, precipitous and unmettaled and he says "The Garhwalis are excellent drivers — many have experience of Army trucks — and serious accidents are uncommon." Truly not the song of India shining!
The true essence of Bond's travelling tales is that he is willing to try any mode of transport. On a journey to Rishikesh, he and his friend hitch a ride in the back of a truck and travel at speed down the mountain. Their arrival at Rishikesh and the welcome dip in the Ganga makes for a quiet, satisfying finis to a journey so fraught with peril.
Uncanny knack
As a traveller, Bond has the uncanny knack of knowing whether he likes a place or not. So it was, when he was 20 miles away from Pauri that he realised it was not going to be his kind of place. Very simply he explains "perhaps it's something on the wind — emanations of an atmosphere — that are carried on to me well before I arrive at my destination."
Snippets of history also find place. In the section "Into the Mountains" he speaks of the adventurer Frederick "Pahari" Wilson, his interest in deodars, leasing the forests of the Raja of Tehri and finally the introduction of "Wilson apples — large, red and juicy — sold to travellers and pilgrims on their way to Gangotri". The glimpses Bond provide of Wilson's life is an interesting interlude adding character and charm to the place.
The Ganga plays an important role in the making of "Tales... ". At Gauri Kund, below the Gangotri temple, Bond says, it falls over a rock of considerable height, and cascades until it reaches the Bahironghati gorge. Bond spends a night by the river listening to the sounds of the river. He rises early to see the sun rise, but it is a futile attempt, as the peaks do not let the sun shine till 9.00 a.m. In the meantime everyone is rushing around trying to keep warm, "exclaiming delightedly at what they call gulabi thand — literally, rosy cold! Guaranteed to turn the cheeks a rosy pink!" Very charming, indeed. But Bond is not taken in; he says he prefers a rosy sunburn!
Light reading, witty observations and snippets of historical information make this book an out of the ordinary travelogue.
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