Book Review: Mother Hill by Ruskin Bond

Mother Hill by Ruskin Bond is a short story covered in the book ‘White Clouds, Green Mountains’. In this story, semi-biography kind of, the writer recollects the time he spent in the mountains. He has been living there for over twenty five years. A lot has changed in the hills over these years. Here, he particularly speaks about the relationship a writer possibly can share with the mountains.

In his opinions, humans have tried all the possible ways, like building dams, controlling streams, deforestation, etc. to get rid of the mountains and its allied beauty. Well, but every time, the forest on the mountains is dwindling away. Humans cannot get rid of the mountains; they are here for to stay.

He also speaks about the difficult situations overpowering the simple lives of the hill people. Because of population and misuse of the hill places, nowadays writers have begun to live in the plains. And once there was a time when people were less, fewer tourists flocked, and cars were limited so that people can walk around freely. But the time has changed; hill stations have become so packed with tourists that during peak seasons normal walk in the morning or evening seem now a daunting task.

The writer remembers that he tried living in Delhi but couldn’t, since he is always wished to live in the lap of nature, in a peaceful way. His cottage is on a hill top, around the oak and the maple forest. One of his house assistants Prem and his wife take care of the house, so he grew so attached to them that he wrote ‘The Cherry Tree’ for his son Rakesh, and wrote ‘Earthquake’ for second son Mukesh. In the end, the writer optimistically expresses that when you get the love of people and freedom from mountains, then understand that you have come very near to the border of the heaven. Mountains are like strong mother, always comforting.

Through this story, the writer has expressed concerns over the exploitation of the hills humans for the sake of their commercial interest. Readers will grow sympathetic towards the beauty of the mountains.