A collection of Ruskin Bond’s six novels evoking nostalgia for time gone by
This collection of six novels sparkles with the quiet charm and humanity that are the hallmarks of Ruskin Bond’s writing. Evoking nostalgia for a time gone by; these poignant chronicles of life in India’s hills and small towns describe the hopes and passions that capture young minds and hearts; highlighting the uneasy reconciliation of dreams and destiny.
The six novels included in the collection are:
The Room on the Roof
Vagrants in the Valley
Delhi Is Not Far
A Flight of Pigeons
The Sensualist
A Handful of Nuts
Welcome to the Magic Store of Nu-Cham-Vu, located in Anchan Bay, a seaside village in an unknown corner of the PBI – World. Here you will find the most unusual things: chocolate cakes made of potatoes and cream, toffee rolled around sugar cane sticks and beetroot ice cream garnished with tomato-chilli jam. It also sells the most amazing magical toys—a flute that can sense seasons, a toy bird that always speaks the truth and a doll that can do translations! But the strangest creature of all is Nu-Cham-Vu, the monstrous owner of the store, who loves tormenting the parents and teasing the kids who come to buy his toys. One day the grown-ups decide to kick him out of Anchan Bay. But the children don’t want him to go!
The battle is on . . . Will Nu-Cham-Vu be thrown out? Or will the children be able to save the Magic Store of Nu-Cham-Vu?
The Magic Store of Nu-Cham-Vu is brought to life by Vinayak Varma’s stunning illustrations, and will enthrall readers of all ages.
When Ongchu, a young vanara princess, is kidnapped by a rakshasan, Rishi Agastya entrusts Gind, a bold young vanara, with the dangerous mission of restoring her to Baulpur, her home beyond the Himalayas. As Gind, his father Karuppan, and Ongchu set out on their long, arduous journey from the island of Poompuhar, they are stalked by wild animals and magical beings, waylaid and terrorized by rakshasas, and thwarted by a wrathful Indra, the god of thunder. They meet an army of vanaras on a mission to rescue a human princess from the clutches of the wicked rakshasa king; help a giant vanara in his search for the magical herb sanjeevini; and winter with a band of yetis in the high Himalayas. Mysterious and momentous things are happening around the vanaras, but they are clueless about their own part in these events. What is Agastya’s secret purpose? Will the three vanaras make it to Baulpur? What are the shadowy forces at work?
Gind’s exciting adventures will have you rollicking from one escapade to another in this action-packed fantasy. Meet delightful, strange and magical characters, and follow the trail of the vanaras as their light-hearted adventure turns into an odyssey…
A sudden violent storm takes Kolkata by surprise. It also leaves Narendra Nath Biswas injured, hit by a falling tree in the Park Street Cemetry . . . or was it the work of some unknown assailant? Feluda starts his own investigations and soon encounters enough questions to puzzle his matchless intellect.
Who was Thomas Godwin and why is someone digging up his grave? What is a Perigal Repeater? Who is this mysterious N.M. Biswas?
In his search for answers, Feluda digs up the fascinating history of the Godwin family going back to nineteenth-century Lucknow, and learns about Thomas Godwin’s precious heirloom. Ghostly happenings in a graveyard, a ruthless criminal with a gang of thugs, a master chef and a happy quitar player come together in an adventure full in danger and excitement.
Ashoka the Great, the ruler of ancient India’s largest kingdom, took the path of peace, tolerance, non-violence and compassion after a fierce battle in Kalinga. He now addressed his subjects as a father would his children, and erected pillars that spread his thoughts throughout the land in the people’s own language. He put their welfare above all else and worked towards that for the rest of his life. One of the most well-known symbols from India’s history, the Ashoka chakra, now adorns India’s national flag, and the lion capital from his pillars is our national emblem. In this lively, engrossing account of Ashoka’s life and the times, Subhadra Sen Gupta deftly brings him alive again from behind the swirling mists of time.
Poet, novelist, painter, musician and Nobel Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore was one of modern India’s greatest literary figures. This collection brings together some of his best works—poems, short stories and plays in one volume. Be it the wit, magic and lyricism of his poetry or the vividly etched social milieu of his stories, or the sheer power and vibrancy of his plays, Tagore’s versatility and unceasing creativity come alive in these writings. The title play ‘The Land of Cards’ is a satire against the bondage of orthodox rules, while in ‘The Post Office’, a child suffocated by his confined existence dreams of freedom in the world outside. From a son’s cherished desire to protect his mother in the poem ‘Hero’ to a fruit-seller longing for his daughter faraway in the story ‘Kabuliwala’, Tagore’s works convey his humanism and his deep understanding of human relationships.
Feluda, Topshe and Lalmohan Babu are holidaying in the seaside town of Puri, when they discover a dead body on the beach. And soon Feluda’s holiday turns into an edge-of-the-seat hunt for the killer.
Some very odd things are happening in this little coastal town. Ancient Buddhist manuscripts vanish. An unknown man walks on the sand leaving very strange footprints. Lalmohan Babu finds an amazing astrologer but Topshe is not so sure. And something really spooky is going on in an abandoned house by the sea. Feluda races against time to unmask a murderer with many faces who will not hesitate to kill again.
One of Feluda’s most chilling cases is brought alive by Tapas Guha’s brilliant artwork, and twists and turns in the story will keep you riveted till the breathtaking showdown!
It is the year 1568. Emperor Akbar is on the throne and all is well in Hindustan.
Or is it?
Meet Ash and Tara, two feisty kids who battle the vilest villains in Akbar’s court.
Devious minds are at work, planning to steal Akbar’s precious emerald dagger, which the emperor believes brings him good luck. Ash and Tara, twin brother and sister, growing up in a village across the Yamuna land up in Agra Fort and get to know of the conspiracy. Can they stop the ruthless Magesh and his accomplices from carrying out the plan? Or will they get framed for the theft and end up on the wrong side of the world’s most powerful monarch?
The breathless adventure twists and turns its way through the magnificent Agra Fort, the bylanes of medieval Agra and the dark, stormy forests across the Yamuna. Each story in the brand new Ash and Tara series will keep you engrossed till the final action-packed ending even as you get to know and love Akbar, Birbal, Ash, Tara and their friends like never before.
What do you do when you discover an unspeakable truth about your parents?
The Diwanchand family boasted of having only sons, no daughters. The water from a magical well in their farmhouse was the reason behind this ‘good fortune’, they said. One day, fifteen-year-old Gurmi sets out to look for the well and what he sees changes everyone’s world forever. The faces of three girls look up at him from the water, and draw him into a world of fun, games and cyber magic -and Gurmi has to face up to an unnerving truth as murky as the surreal well.
What terrible crimes have been committed behind the walls of the rambling Diwanchand family home? Will Gurmi and the ghost-girls be able to avenge the evil that has taken place and prevent yet another unspeakable atrocity from occurring?
Funny, yet sensitive and immensely powerful, Faces in the Water is the story of lives lost to appease our society’s insatiable hunger for male children, and the price families pay for its sake.
The birth of a prince in medieval India was usually followed by grand celebrations. Camped out in the wilderness when the news of Akbar’s safe delivery reached him; Humayun could only enjoy a quiet moment of thanksgiving. He broke a musk pod and as the fragrance wafted all over the camp; the new father hoped his son’s fame would similarly spread across the world.
Akbar-emperor; warrior; statesman and thinker-is acknowledged as one of the most charismatic personalities in Indian history. Crowned the king of Hindustan at the age of thirteen; his empire went on to include the farthest corners of the country. Yet he was not just a conqueror. A humanist; his deep interest in literature; architecture; art and his inclusive vision of religions at a time when such thoughts were not in fashion; set him down as one of history’s most remarkable men.
In this story of his life; as exciting and thrilling as any adventure tale; the author describes Akbar’s rough; difficult childhood spent on the run; his consolidation of the empire through war and diplomacy; the myriad interesting and entertaining people who made up his court; the strong women of the Mughal household; and finally; the intriguing circumstances under which the crown passed on to his son; Jahangir.
Accompanied by many vignettes of information about the Mughal empire and the world in the 16th century; this book is a fascinating introduction to the life and times of a ruler who still rules our imaginations.
