Mr Bond’s guide to happiness

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Reading a Ruskin Bond book somehow makes you feel like a traveller - moving with the author, and his stories. Be it his early years in the princely state of Jamnagar, the mysterious woods of Mussoorie, or the cool hills overlooking his cottage where plum, apricot, and apple trees blossom in spring, Bond always paints a vivid and happy portrait of life. His new book, It's A Wonderful Life: Roads to Happiness (Aleph Book Company), is a collection of essays for these gloomy times.

It was in April last year, a week after the national lockdown was announced that his friend and publisher David Davidar asked Bond if he would pen a book that could "cheer people up". "First, I have to cheer myself up," Bond remembers telling himself. But, not one to disappoint his readers or friends, the Landour-based writer decided to journal his days in the pandemic-induced lockdown. "I've always kept a diary, and while I don't have a daily entry, I write everything that comes to my mind… an anecdote or just remembering someone I knew from 50 years ago," he says in a telephonic interview to mid-day. These journal entries and those written previously, when Covid-19 was not part of our daily vocabulary and Donald Trump still was just a harmless Republican candidate, are part of the new collection. The book ends on May 19, 2020, when Bond turned 86. "I broke off [the journalling] after listening to all the bad news that was coming in, so I am certainly not immune to it. I do feel for everyone who's suffering right now. But, by nature, I am an optimistic and cheerful person."

His uplifting essays are enough reason for us to ask him to share his secret to being happy and resilient. We can hear him perk up on the other end of the call. "Very simple things make me happy," he says, sharing priceless advice.

Gardening: Plants and flowers can bring a lot of joy. In fact, anything that grows - from a small wild flower to a tree or a forest, anything that's there in nature and progresses from seed to fruit or flower - makes me happy. I unfortunately, can no longer go out and climb the next hill, but I have a little sun room in my home, which is warm even in the winters, where I grow geraniums. Last year, I grew tomatoes, but they never turned red; they all stayed green. This makes me suspect that all the red tomatoes that we see in the market have been coloured by someone (laughs). There's a roof garden too, but I have to take a spiral staircase to go up there. With my increasing weight, the staircase shudders, so, I've been forbidden from doing that. But, there's an opening in the roof, and I can see the plants up there - we have roses on the roof.

Reading: I read two or three books a week, and usually, just for fun. I don't read a book, if I find it tedious. I have been reading a lot of ghost stories, in fact. I write ghost stories too, but I don't think they scare people. Recently, a little girl came up to me, saying, "Mr Bond, can't you make your [ghost] stories more frightening?" One mustn't, however, scare kids, because I think they are already seeing enough right now. Life is tough for them, tougher than it used to be [for us]. There are classics like Three Men In A Boat [by Jerome K Jerome] and The Diary of a Nobody [a comic novel by George Grossmith and Weedon Grossmith] that I've enjoyed, and PG Wodehouse, of course. But, The Vicar of Wakefield [by Oliver Goldsmith] is a book full of warmth and good feeling, and a lovely read for these times.

Ruskin Bond

Enjoying breakfast: It's the most important meal of the day, never mind lunch or dinner. I know a lot of youngsters who skip breakfast because they get up too late. But, if you want to have a good day, you should start off with a good meal. Not too much, just a few nice things, like poached egg or an omelette with hot, buttered toasts - one of them dripping with honey or jam - cornflakes, buttered buns with cream. Should I continue or stop here?

What: It's A Wonderful Life: Roads to Happiness by Ruskin Bond
Where: amazon.in
For: Rs 399

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