Time Stops at Shamli and other stories

Author: Ruskin Bond

One of the best story collections from Ruskin Bond, “Time stops at Shamli and Other Stories” is a magnificent compilation of short stories, primarily set in the backdrop of the foothill of the Himalayas.

Ruskin Bond deals with a wide spectrum of characters and excels in bringing out different aspects of human relationships in his stories. He gives a deep insight into the fragility of the human characters and very subtly points their weaknesses which are easily exposed when they encounter situations which are beyond their control.

 In the tapestry of the mountains surrounded by woods, there are simple workers, who wake up in the morning, do their jobs and head back home in the night to sleep in peace on their soft pillows with a clear conscience. There are lovers who long for their beloved and the children who miss their parents.  There is a sense of incompleteness in them, because of an unfulfilled dream, a longing for something they could not obtain. There are also twisted characters, who are used to their shades of grey and do not think once before stooping to acts of greed and cheating.

Time Stops at Shamli is a timeless tale of a lover who gets stranded in an inn, only to be reunited with his ex-flame, who is unreachable to him. Listen to the wind kicks the nostalgia of our stay in the inn of a secluded hill station on a stormy night, with strong winds whistling and threatening to rip the roof apart.

The Summer Season is a beautiful tale of the hardships of the young boy who comes to the hill town from his village to earn a few bucks for his family. Dead man’s gift is the story of a miserly Bania and an opportunist policeman, who is trying to benefit from other’s money.

There are haunted stories, whispering in the dark and The Haunted Bicycle , which send chills down your body. There are stories when crows and tigers make their point of view very clear in their disapproval of humans.

There are stories around tunnels in the mountain roads and the streams in the wilderness. Two boys fight for the ownership of the stream. The tunnel watchman makes sure the tunnel is safe for the train to enter in the pitch dark. 

There are a few stories, which do bring out the frailty of human characters, He said it with Arsenic is one such twisted tale, which portrays a greedy uncle who can stoop to any extent for money. But these are characters we have read before and we are not really appalled by their actions and can easily predict the consequences of their vanity.

The freshness of the mountain air, the wilderness of the woods, the beautiful lush greenery in the forests after the rain bring such joy and warmth in the heart. Ever thought of a life without mobile phones, in the lap of mother nature and surrounded by wilderness?

Ruskin Bond makes it come true through these stories.

This book is precious to me as I have his autograph on the first page of my copy, which I painstakingly obtained after standing in the long queue outside the Cambridge bookstore in Mussorie.

Recommended : 👍👍👍👍👍