“I have come to believe that the best kind of walk, or journey, is the one in which you have no particular destination when you set out.”
—Ruskin Bond

One can find magic wherever one looks. Sit back and relax, all one needs is a book. A reader lives a thousand lives before one dies. The man who never reads lives only one.

The Room on the Roof, The Blue Umbrella, A Flight of Pigeons, Rusty, The Boy from the Hills, A handful of Nuts, these are not merely books but are a uniquely portable sensation. Every certified book addict must have reached paradise, after reading these masterpieces by a supremely talented, yet very simple, humble, modest and courteous living legend Mr. Ruskin Bond. I am sure that everyone must be very surprised to read these adjectives, ‘simple’, ‘humble’ and ‘modest’. Hence to throw more light in this aspect I want to narrate my experience of my rendezvous with Ruskin Bond

On September 29, 2017, I along with my husband, my kids, and my colleague set off in the quest of meeting the living legend towards Mussoorie. A hill station in the Dehradun district of Uttarakhand. Like all frequent travellers, I have seen more than I remember and remember more than I have seen. Perhaps, we share stories in the same spirit that explores, share maps, hoping to speed each other’s journey, but knowing that the journey we make will be our own. During the trip we experienced phenomenal, panoramic views and it was so refreshing to see, when the greenwoods laughed with the voice of joy, dimpling streams runs laughing by, air mocks with our merry wit, breathless, we flung ourselves on the silent windy hills, just like a kite in the blue sky, smiled in the sun and kissed the lovely green grass. It was a thousand times more exponentially pleasurable than I can describe. The scenic beauty of Mussoorie is beyond description. Finally at 7:30 pm we reached the ‘Honeymoon Capital’. A long journey by road, overcoming all the anxiety. We all sighed in relief that finally we made it to the land of the legend.

But all that I had taken was a blind risk to get an opportunity to meet Ruskin Bond. After some enquiry we could locate the house of Mr. Bond. Mr. Bond’s house was just near a Chinese restraint named Domas. Proving all perceptions wrong. We came to learn that Mr. Bond stays in a house which takes 32 steep steps to reach his door. The passage was dark. A green door with some Ashoka leaves at the entrance which are put for good luck and auspiciousness. I along with my colleague climbed the steps, most certainly counting each step. Unravelling and moving closer to making dreams become real. Anxious all the more hesitant we rang the bell. And came the most happening moment when we heard the voice of Mr. Bond. He asked, “Kaun hai?” (“Who’s there?”) I introduced myself saying that I am a research scholar working on his (Bond’s) literary works. Would like to meet him. A bit reluctant initially. He finally said that we could meet him at the book shop tomorrow.

The next day we planned that we would not budge an inch until we got the chance to meet Mr. Bond. We began our search of the book house. All students were on the street having a day out due to Dusshera. We gradually spotted an old bookshop by the name Cambridge Book Depot. And to our great surprise we saw a banner which read “Come meet Ruskin Bond Today from 3.30pm to 5 pm”. It was as if God had planned the entire adventure. It was 11 am that we got this more than welcome affirmation. I was the first one to be in the queue that day. The waiting was for hours. But these hours of waiting were going to create history in my life. A helper at the shop Vinita was very cooperative and more than happy to help me purchase books written by Ruskin Bond. My family members and my colleague took turns while I was going through the selection of the books which was just like a treasure at hand. Mr. Sunil Arora the book shop owner was very enthusiastic and happy to show all the albums of Mr. Bond. Then finally Mr. Arora informed that Mr. Bond was to be given a pick from his house and had to follow a different route to reach the bookshop, as it was Dusshera Fair and he could get stuck in the traffic jam if he did not reach the book shop before the procession began.

Then came the moment when Mr. Bond was finally spotted by all his fans, including me. The person whom I had read about since childhood was in front of my eyes. I couldn’t believe it for a while. Mr. Bond, with the support of the people by his side, gradually climbed the two stairs of the bookshop and took his place which was specifically made for him for whenever he visits the bookshop.

Finally my turn came at 5 pm of that great day when I could interact with Mr. Bond. I wished him and told him that Iwass pursuing my PhD and working on a Minor Research Project on his works. To my surprise he was very glad to hear about it, He gave his autograph on the books that I wished for. He even shared his landline number saying, “You can note down my number and call me, but usually I don’t share my number.” This was another feather in my cap that day. Then I put forward a question, “Sir, What would your life be like if your mother would have passed away in place of your father? Would you have still been a writer, or your life would have been different?”

To which he replied, “I don’t know,” but he wore a smile which had a lot to say. He said, that I could get in touch with him later. I asked if I could shake my hands with him, to which he very sweetly replied, “If I could, I would never let go.” I

I did not mind I couldn’t ask him all the question I planned to ask. Because meeting him was an experience in itself. Although he had many people flocking around to have a conversation with him, but it was still the realisation of a dream for me.