Bond with Kipling

                                                     Bond with Kipling

‘Exploring Children Fiction in India’ was my research topic for some time till I changed it to the works of Vikram Seth. The explorations entailed entrails of the body of children story writing in India since its inception to a far and wide interweaving tapestry of works by a plethora of writers.  The 2 R’s – Rudyard Kipling and Ruskin Bond had me enmeshed for a season and I was much intrigued by their diverse perspectives on the Indian scene.

They are highly acclaimed writers with Kipling, who was the recipient of the Nobel Prize and Bond who received the Padma Shri.  The former was a British author born in India in the times of the Raj in the late Victorian period and the latter is an Indian author of British descent who lives in Landour, Mossurie. Their take on the Indian milieu and the polarity which separates it makes an interesting literary study. The British society in India was renowned for its rigid hierarchy. It also comprised of a unique social consciousness; that of the Anglo - Indians. After serving a term of their postings they would leave, but many chose to stay behind, unable to break away from the impact that India had on their psyche, accentuated by a distinct sense of superiority to their native counterparts. Biographies of the authors inform us that their formative years were spent in India and then they visited England for some time, Kipling more so than Bond. The Indian stories of Kipling form a small part of his complete literary output, but he was one of the few writers of the late Victorian age who wrote exotic Indian tales for the common man here, and for the fascinating consumption of the English back in England who craved for the stories of the mystic land - a crown possession of the British Empire abroad.

‘The Jungle book’, ‘Just So Stories’ and ‘Kim’ are the peaks of Kipling’s oeuvre. His artistic flair, craftsmanship and meticulous meter and rhyme never allowed his writing to be eclipsed from the minds of the people and through all the storms that dogged his profile as a writer. His alluring and near perfectionist art of storytelling was shadowed for long by his controversial political ideology. The British Empire, with its imperialistic agenda, had a mystical appeal in Kipling’s mind. His famous poem – ‘The White Man’s Burden’ which became a popular phrase, emphasized the moralistic inclinations of the white man to civilize the colored and backward races of the orient.  With the advent of the First World War the imperialistic ideology was denounced and his writings were scrutinized and condemned for dark political shades. The literary battles fought have been far and numerous but the following lines refute the allegations downright.

All good people agree,

And all good people say,

All nice people, like Us, are We

And everyone else is They:

But if you cross over the sea,

Instead of over the way,

You may end by (think of it!) looking on We

As only a sort of They!'

Kim, the story of the orphaned Irish boy who lives off the streets in Lahore, is a picturesque painting of the sounds, smells and colors of India. It is as if the writer has completely immersed himself in the land of his birth and is most lovingly intimate with its nuances, practices, ethos and plays. “A fair land- a most beautiful land is this of Hind - and the land of the five rivers is fairer than all,” said Kim. Many of his older prints had the Hindu Swastika printed on the book covers, which fuelled fresh controversies with the rise of Nazi Germany. Given the pointer, it would be a good exercise on the part of the reader to explore the works of Rudyard Kipling - especially the Indian story, and reconcile his artistic acumen with his political perspective.

Ruskin Bond, on the other hand, has been embraced by India and the world over for his quintessential writings hailing the state and culture of India. His lucid style interwoven with practical humor and a subtle wisdom has been applauded by the masses, especially children. Bond is goodness incarnate, who has used his skill to lighten people’s lives with his stories of nature and eccentricities of ordinary human folk. The aesthetics of ordinariness - the hallmark of his writing craft, is endearing and refreshing.

What classifies Bond as a unique writer and segregates him from others is that in spite of his British descent, his writing is not Eurocentric. After a four year sojourn in England, he chose to settle in India permanently. He writes like a man completely and absorbedly immersed in the vast landscape called INDIA. The stories are an authentication of his deep appreciation and love for India and its people. And yet because of his background he is able to distance himself and render an overview of all that is not right in his adopted country. The personal travails of his protagonist are juxtaposed with the social, political, cultural, religious and communal fabric of the geographical area around him - a subject of much critical acclaim in his works. His work has been adapted to serials and films, out of which ‘The Blue umbrella’ is a must watch.

If you love the ‘Blue Mountains’, are awed by the spectacular and mystical creations on earth, and enthralled by the petty foibles and exchanges of human beings – read his literature; a truly spiritual quest.

 These two great writers had very different perspectives to life in the Indian subcontinent. Who do you agree more with? Read them to make your own perspective.