Flowers floating down the river: yellow and scarlet canna lilies, roses, jasmine and hibiscus. They are placed in boats made of broad leaves, then consigned to the water with a prayer. The current carries them swiftly downstream, and they bob about on the water…………….

Ruskin Bond is an Indian author known for his signature simplistic and witty writing style. He has authored many short stories, novellas, essays, collections and children books. At the same time, he has contributed many poems and articles to various magazines and anthologies. At the age of twenty three, he won the prestigious John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for his first novel, The Room on the Roof. He is also the recipient of the Padma Shri in 1999, Padma Bhushan in 2014.

Ruskin Bond, born in 1934, grew up in Jamnagar, Shimla, New Delhi and Dehra (now known as Dehradun). Apart from three years in the UK, he has spent all his life in India, and now lives in Landour, Mussoorie, with his adopted family.

Petals On The Ganga is a collection of autobiographical stories of Ruskin Bond, based on the theme of nature. In these heartwarming stories, Bond talks of the various elements of nature as if they are members of his family. He also endows the flora and fauna that he encounters with distinct personalities, and himself recedes into the background as a silent observer.

The happiness and the enjoyment of the author with the nature can be seen in each and every page of the book. The writer goes down the memory lane about his journeys with the nature and the pain that he is going through to see the trees being cut-down and other world changes. The author brings a smile on the face of the reader with the scenes about the myriad beauty of the nature and also with his wittiness.

For example, in the chapter of A Village in Garhwal, Ruskin Bond writes about lanterns as –

“Lanterns swing in the dark. Almost everyone, including the blind man, carries a lantern. And if you ask the blind man what he needs what he needs a lantern for, he will reply: ‘So that fools do not stumble against me in the dark.'”

This kind of simplistic witty writing style brings a smile on the face of a reader.

The author mentions that it is easy for a writer to write and describe parts of nature like river, lakes, trees, etc. But, a mountain is always a mystery for an author. A mountain is an epitome of patience and all the good things. How much ever time you spend in mountains it does not matter as once you visit a mountain, you end up as a part of the mountain. That’s the beauty of the mountains.

The author’s writing style brings out the imagination in the reader as the reader travels to the places along with the author and enjoys the myriad beauty of nature. The book shows the love of the author for nature.

From the mountains to the trees, from the birds that fly to his cottage, bringing a whiff of the faraway forests they come from, to the winding paths that lead to charming gardens. Petals On The Ganga will take the reader to nooks and corners, opening up scenes of myriad beauty.