A Town Called Dehra

Book excerpt: In this delightful collection; Ruskin Bond introduces us to the Dehradun he knows intimately and loves unreservedly—the town that he had spent many years of his childhood and youth in. A town which; when he knew it; was one of pony-drawn tongas and rickshaws; a town fond of gossip but tolerant of human foibles; a town of lush lichi trees; charming winter gardens and cool streams; a small town; a sleepy town; a town called ‘Dehra’. With classic stories and poems like ‘Masterji’; ‘Growing up with Trees’and ‘A Song for Lost Friends’ and previously unpublished treasures like ‘Silver Screen’; ‘Dilaram Bazaar’ and ‘Lily of the Valley’; this anthology is replete with journal entries; extracts from the author’s memoirs and; of course; poetry; non-fiction and stories set in or inspired by Dehra. Evocative; wistful and witty as only Ruskin Bond can be; A Town Called Dehra is a celebration of a dearly-loved town as well as an elegy for a way of life gone extinct.