An Analysis of The Room on the Roof by Ruskin Bond

The Room On The Roof written by Ruskin Bond
The Room On The Roof Top is a story about a 16yr old boy-Rusty. Who himself is English but lives with his caretaker in DehraDun. His caretaker being a typical strict and shrewd guardian,imposes forced discipline on him. Somehow Rusty meets a bunch of Indian boys who become friends with him and together they explore the streets of Dehra. Living in a very enclosed environment, when Rusty gets involved in Indian festivals like HOLI and Diwali....he feels liberated. He abandons his caretaker on a sour note and starts living with his friends. To earn a living, being English....his spoken and written English is what comes to his rescue. He teaches one of the kids in the neighborhood and lives in a room on their rooftop. Here is when Rusty meets LIFE. Often he roams around Dehra eating chaat, pakodas and spends time in silence on the hill tops of dehra with his friends.

Rusty had never had Chaat, tikkees.......here is somethings interesting when he tasted tikkees for the first time..
Rusty tasted a bit. It was hot. He waited a minute then tasted another bit. It was still hot but in a different way;now it was lively,interesting;it had a diff taste to anything he had eaten before. Suspicious but inquisitive, he finished the tikkees and waited to see if anything woukd happen.
Have U had before?...asked Somi.
No' said Rusty....What will it do?'
Somi-' It might worry your stomach a little at first,but you will get used to it the more often you eat. So finish the other one too.' hehe......:-). While Rusty taught Kishen English he fell he in love with Kishen's mother. Who was a wife to a drunken Mr.Kapoor. Rusty & Mrs. Kapoor....bond very well together and also share intimate moments. Just when Rusty starts feeling the pink of life.....Mrs Kapoor dies in an accident. His life changes here onwards. Kishen and Mr Kapoor go away to stay at one of their relatives house. So Kishen is also taken away from him, Rusty does not know how to spend time without Mrs. Kapoor and his other friends also are busy with their own work and families.

Rusty decides to go back to England but once meet Kishen before he leaves India. When he reached Mr Kapoor house, he learns that he has already married and Kishen is still in Dehra. He did not want to live with a drunk dad and a step mother. Rusty heads back to Dehra and finds Kishen to be in bad company of pick pocketter's. Rusty wanted someone to share life with and Kishen needed someone who could show him the right way to live. Rusty decides to stay back and start a Chaat ki dukaaan and in the spare time may be teach English....and Kishen would assist him too. Kishen and Risty both were divorced from mankind, and Rusty was the only one who understood their misery.

This enchanting novel by Ruskin Bond is written in his trademark close-to-nature style. The world-renowned author writes from his true experience of the world. This story is autobiographical in nature.
This novel takes the reader on a journey of rural India through the eyes of a 16-year old boy .The panorama of the advancing Indian Monsoon adds a melodious romance to the novel. Bond’s bold yet touching style of writing combined with the intriguing story and plot make this novel an engaging adventure. Winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in 1957, this book is a page-turner.
Like the Indian bazaar itself, the book is filled with smells, sights, sounds, confusion and subtle organization of ordinary Indian life.
Rusty, the hero of the novel is unhappy with his strict guardian & being confined to the declining Euopean community in Dehra Dun Finally, one day he is bold enough to venture into forbidden Indian Territory. He meets â€~Somi’ the Sikh boy. A boy of strange perpetual rejoices, he soon becomes Rusty’s best friend. â€~Ranbir’, Hindu by caste, and the strongest wrestler in the bazaar invokes in Rusty a rebellious spirit that earns him his freedom for life. Then there is Suri. Bespectacled and owlish to behold, Suri possesses an almost criminal cunning, and is both respected and despised by all who know him. His interests are confined to people and their privacies; which privacies, when known to Suri, are made public.
After running away from home, his newfound friends’ shelter him and soon he gets a job as an English teacher of Mr. Kapoor’s son. Mr. Kapoor was once a rich man who has lost his job because of his addiction to alcohol.
His only support is his lovely wife Meena who soon takes a special place in Rusty’s heart. But the most important member of the family is their son Kishan, who also becomes Rusty’s best friend. They have a lovely time together and Meena gives Rusty the best gift of his life. A lonely room on their house’s roof. His very own room! Scarcely furnished, but incredibly close to the Banyan tree, and nature in general. A place he could call home.He called it â€~ The room on the Roof ’