Delhi Is Not Far

Book excerpt: The residents of Pipalnagar, a dull and dusty small town, hope to one day leave behind their humdrum lives for the thrills of Delhi. Deep Chand, the barber, dreams of giving the prime minister a haircut; Pitamber wishes to ride an autorickshaw instead of pulling a cycle-rickshaw; and Aziz will be happy with a junk shop in Chandni Chowk. Sharing their dreams of escape is the narrator Arun, a struggling detective-fiction writer. As he waits for inspiration to write a blockbuster, he seeks and discovers love in unusual places—with the young prostitute Kamla, wise beyond her years, and the orphan and epileptic Suraj, surprisingly optimistic despite his difficult circumstances. In Delhi Is Not Far, one of his most enduring novels, Ruskin Bond sketches a moving portrait of small- town India with characteristic sympathy and quiet wisdom.