CHARACTERS: 3.5/5
WRITING STYLE: 4.5/5
ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 4/5
“The Road to the Bazaar” is one of the lesser-known works of the famous author Ruskin Bond.
I stumbled upon this book in the kindle unlimited section and upon seeing the cover and reading the blurb, I immediately downloaded it.
This year I have had a kind of a mini Ruskin–athon, wherein I have read an unusually high number of Ruskin Bond books in the last couple of months.
A few of my Ruskin adventures (not forgetting the one being reviewed) include Ghost Stories from the Raj, Roads to Mussoorie, Tales and Legends from India, and The Laughing Skull.
Being quite happy with the said Ruskin-athon, I don’t intend to stop anywhere soon and wish to continue reading a couple more.
My Ruskin Bond TBR already has the likes of A Song of Many Rivers, The Blue Umbrella, Our Trees still grow in Dehra and The Room on the Roof and I hope I will soon discover many more books from his kitty.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Must Read: Top Books by Ruskin Bond[/perfectpullquote]“The Road to the Bazaar” is a beautiful book which will make you reminisce about your own childhood.
It is essentially a children’s book but it does a wonderful job of bringing out that innocent child who has long been hibernating inside you.
The book is based on a set of child characters – Koki, Suraj, Anil, Somi, Mukesh, Mohan etc each of whom has a story of their own.
The book is a collection of sixteen short stories which take place in Dehra and remind us of a time when life was simpler and technology was an unknown devil.
All the stories speak of childlike innocence of those days when all that children had for entertainment was plucking trees, playing with animals, listening to their grandmother’s stories and a quick game of cricket.
Those days are long gone now and that is probably the reason why this book seems like a happy song reminding of those happy times.
I simply loved all the stories.
My favourite was “Mukesh starts the Zoo” in which Mukesh, having visited the famous Delhi Zoo, decides to start a Zoo of his own in the backyard of his house in Dehra.
He borrows a few domestic animals and pets from his close friends and acquaintances.
In the end, the motley bunch includes a grandmother’s prayer chanting parrot, a washer man’s donkey dubbed as a wild ass from Rann of Kutch, a friend’s rabbit, a black wild dog with bright yellow eyes and a couple of hastily caught geckos.
That story was such a beautiful expression of that childlike innocence which we all remember and would love to go back to.
All other stories are equally expressive and interesting and therefore I recommend “The Road to the Bazaar” to all lovers of children’s fiction.
I end this review by rating this book 4 out of 5 stars and sincerely hope that I come across more such works in the future.
Can’t wait to read it? Buy your copy from the link below!
