Of writers and dreams - a book review

Last year, we had been to Mussoorie during the Christmas vacation, and A had looked forward to meeting one of her favourite (OK, one of my favourite too) writers Ruskin Bond. She had made a booklet of a few of her own stories. We wanted to meet him and present him with this booklet, and get our favourite books ( The Blue Umbrella for A and A Flight of Pigeons for me) signed. Unfortunately, he was out of town, and was to return only after we left Mussoorie. So we requested Mr Arora, who owns a bookstore where Ruskin Bond regularly signed books for his readers, to hand over the booklet to him to sign, and gave him our address. We were extremely disappointed on not being able to meet him in person, but there was nothing we could do about that!

Imagine our delight when, after a few weeks, an envelope arrived at our home, containing the booklet, duly signed by Mr Bond, with a few encouraging words from him. Her book, (never mind that it was an unpublished, handwritten one) signed by Ruskin Bond!

So when I read about Tulika's 'Advaita The Writer', I had to pick it up for A.

Pic courtesy tulikabooks.com

Advaita The Writer
Written by Ken Spillman
Illustrated by Soumya Menon
Published by Tulika books
Age 10+

A 13 yr old, Advaita begins school at the prestigious Dunham Girls' School, a residential school in Dehradun, far away from her home and family in New Delhi. A shy person, she finds herself struggling to fit in. Her nearest room-mate is a gadget freak hooked to her ipod, who "could only listen to something if it came through earphones."

The school library is a haven, however. An avid reader, who dreams of becoming a writer one day, Advaita feasts on the books, especially those by her favourite writer, Ruskin Bond. She has no idea that he lives at a stone's throw, just half-an-hour away, at Mussoorie.

"Ruskin Bond was a name as large in her consciousness as Gandhiji, Lutyens and Enid Blyton, and she had assumed that all such names belonged to the dead."

Well, no. He was a living legend, and moreover, someone who she could easily get to meet. So Mrs Kendall, her teacher, and Advaita plan a visit to Cambridge Book Depot, owned by Mr Arora, where Ruskin Bond sat every Saturday afternoon to sign books for his readers.

Does Advaita meet Ruskin Bond? How does she become 'Advaita the writer'?

We get a peek into Advaita's delightful, if a bit sarcastic sense of humour through her letters, in which we see her school life through her eyes. "Apparently, most of the girls here have adapted to survival without breathing - it has something to do with the number of years they spend in cold rarified air. This makes them thoroughly cold, inside and out...You will be pleased to know that I have climbed steadily up the evolutionary scale and that I am striving to reduce my dependence on air."!!

Black-and-white illustrations by Soumya Menon, who has illustrated many books by Tulika, are a treat - they stress on the fact that Advaita the writer is primarily a reader - she is never seen without a book in her hand, lost to the world, busy reading, and sometimes writing!

Ken Spillman has added an afterword in which he tells us about his inspiration for this book, a chance discussion with the awardwinning writer, Advaita Kala. He also introduces us to the delightful Ruskin Bond, a resource for those who have not encountered his work yet, who can see for themselves exactly what the pull is for Advaita and many others. There is a handy list of books for children by Mr Bond from which one may choose.

A loved this book- a fast read- and was smiling as she realised how like Advaita she is...the same avid reading of books, the same shyness with new people and places, the same urge to write, the same incomprehension of gadget-crazy friends! And the same experience, albeit with a difference, about meeting Ruskin Bond!

I picked this book up at the Bangalore book fair this year, the last copy that the stall had. A was doubly delighted, because Ken Spillman had visited her school just a few days previously, had had an open discussion about his books with all the students, and had promised to reply to any mails that the children wrote to him.

I suppose my little reader-writer is thinking seriously about doing just that!