Tales of
Fosterganj by Ruskin Bond is a full-fledged novel based on his living
experience in a small town called Fosterganj. He went there to live for some
time in 1961. First, Ruskin goes to Mussoorie as a tourist from Delhi. Then,
one morning he hikes downhill only to find himself in a slow-paced town called
Fosterganj. He liked the place instantly because of less crowd and slow-paced
life. To fulfill one’s need there is everything, like post-office, bank, a mild
bazaar and so on. To his relief, there are no hotels like of Mussoorie. Ruskin
doesn’t like Mussoorie because of the commercial element and the crowd of tourists.
As a writer he prefers peace all around him. a place like Fosterganj with no commotion at all attracts him instantly. He takes a room on rent above the bakery. The
bakery is run by Hasan, who has about a dozen children. Soon, Ruskin comes
across other interesting characters of the novel such as Vishal - the bank
manager; Foster - a royal descent, Sunil – a pickpocket. Fosterganj is a very
nice place but still there are some mysteries that surround it. There is a constant
fear of leopards being attacking humans and animals. People cannot make out
which leopard is a man-eater and which is animal picker. They live in fear.
Professor
Lulla is a weird man – he often attends others funeral for no valid reasons.
One day while going for a funeral, he is attacked and dragged by a leopard. His
death confirms that there is a leopard on a killing spree. One night Vishal and
Ruskin put a goat on bait and try to kill that leopard but they failed
miserably.
One evening
while coming back from somewhere through a deep forest, Ruskin gets stranded in
the torrential rain. He sees a strange and ugly bird that screeches awfully, it
scares him to death. Soon, he meets a hare-lipped boy of twelve, but his hand
and limb are sturdier to his age. The boy takes him to a ruined palace. He is
given tea and food by the boy’s mother who looked in her late forties. The
palace is a rundown building without electricity. The boy and the woman are the
caretakers of the palace – they say that this palace belongs to their
ancestors. The palace is under litigation and their so-called owners are
located at different places. Ruskin names that palace as Fairy Glen for his
reference.
The rain does
not stop. After dinner, Ruskin is taken to an old room in the palace,
supposedly of the Maharaja. Beyond midnight Ruskin hears strange screams and
when he opens the bed box, he finds a royal skeleton in it. He rushes out of
the toilet way in fear, as the room was locked from outside.
With time, at
Fosterganj, Ruskin develops friendship with his owner Hasan, Vishal, and a
bluff called Foster. He listens to their plans and takes fun from them all
since his life is of a simple writer, not making much money. The funny
character in the book is Foster, he constantly changes his business plans and
often says that his ancestors bring all royal things to Mussoorie from
Scotland. Ruskin often cuts him off with the facts. Foster cultivates gladioli
in his garden and often sells them to new people who roam about Fosterganj.
Once he fooled Ruskin.
Other than the
episodes from Fosterganj, the novel also sees some adventurous turns, like the
earthquake of Uttarakashi when he goes for catching big lizards for extracting
oil with Sunil, the pickpocket.
After some
time, the owners of the Fairy Glen palace decide to sell it to some other party
for the making of a hotel. A middleman visits the palace often for its
detailing and everything. One day he is found dead in the forest. The police
look for the culprit but to no avail. The boy and his mother are out of suspect
circle. One day Ruskin meets the boy and the latter gives him a wooden box full
of gems and jewels. After that it is his duty to keep it secret and safe from
others. Well, he fails in doing that. After running out of money, Ruskin leaves
Fosterganj and goes back to Delhi for a job. One day in a newspaper he comes
across about the murders of Fosterganj. He follows the news only to find that
the boy of palace was not a boy, well he was a lover of that woman and he was
around fifty years old. Their main occupation was to rob the people of their
gems and jewelry. Ruskin was so naïve to recognize them…but he was sure that
the woman with him was not happy. He read a sense of loneliness when he met her
first time.
Though there
are many Ruskin Bond books, but this one is classic, packed with light action
and humorous drama. There is a lot of mystery unfolding event after event.
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