In his long life of 89 years, Ruskin Bond has gained enormous experience and a large fan following across the country and beyond — among children who are still children, the children who have grown up into handsome youth, and the children who are getting ready to enter the senior citizen club. When he speaks, people listen. In fact, there are people who take the trouble to travel all the way to Mussoorie just to be able to meet him and listen to him in person.

At this age and stage, it is quite natural for him to look back at the long life he has lived, and to relive all the important moments that life has offered him. This is what the book My Father’s Last Letter by Ruskin Bond is all about. It contains accounts of various events and episodes in Bond’s life, most of which are given in the form of anecdotes. Some of these are sad, others are funny, and yet others are inspirational.

The title of the book is self-descriptive and is taken from the title of the very first composition of the book. Like most parents, Bond’s father used to write regularly and at length giving him accounts of his own life, inquiring Bond’s well-being and offering some nice worldly and academic guidance. Of course, Bond preserved all these letters. At the time of leaving the boarding, he left these letters in the ‘safe’ custody of the head of the institution saying that he would collect them later. However, on his next visit to the school, he was told that there were no such letters (actually lost). Fortunately, Bond had kept the very last letter from his father with him, so it was saved and is presented in verbatim in this book. I could relate with this whole episode because, just as Bond, I also lost all of my personal correspondence when I left Ahmedabad for Kanpur, and the only letter from my mother that remains with me is the one which I had kept with me in person. Anyway, coming back to Bond’s letter of his father, there is nothing exceptional or emotional in the letter except a sense of nostalgia. However, it is remarkable how careful and attentive was Bond’s father towards the well-being and upbringing of his children. Though Bond was still a kid, no sentence or phrase of the letter would indicate that. In other words, though the letter was written in an affectionate tone, yet his father talked to him as he would have talked to an adult. There is a sense of balance in his tone: he not only encourages him to read, learn and indulge in sports, but also advises him to be careful with his handwriting. I am not sure about the purpose of producing this letter — whether as a tribute to his father or to relive the past. But this much is certain — parents do have a big role to play in their children’s life. Of course, a lot depended on Bond’s own motivation, talent, hard work and experience; however, this letter shows that we cannot rule out the big role that his father played in giving him a proper start.

There are few problems with the composition of this book. The various events have not been arranged in a chronological manner, so you will find yourself jumping forward and backwards to various stages of Bond’s life — Java, Simla, Jamnagar, Dehradun. This makes the reading experience confusing and at times annoying. The chapters could have been arranged properly, or at least a brief outline of Bond’s life could have been included as Introduction or Preface. Besides, several episodes such as tales of his grandfather and that of Uncle Ken have been given more space.

Secondly, there is repetition of various events and descriptions. For example, the introduction of gardener Dhuki, the description of the garden and its flora and fauna, and his collection of music records and their maintenance. Finally, there are far too many typographical errors, which could have been avoided by careful proofreading.

Consider this sentence: “… I will give some to William and Ellen and you can pencil now and draws some wonderful animals like camels …”

Or this line “… was living in Shillong, a picturesque little hill station in Assam …”

To top it all, a friend’s name is ‘Romi‘, which later changes to ‘Somi‘.

All these drawbacks reduce the charm of the book and Bond’s witty writing style.

The book cover is sober and the drawing renders it a quite different and better look than most of the Ruskin Bond books. The calligraphy used in book title is fine, though I had to zoom-in to check whether it was ‘last’ letter or ‘lost’ letter — equally probable and meaningful.

Purist readers may find certain sections in the initial part of the book inappropriate for young readers. In old age, people talk very casually about subjects which would have appalled them when they were young.

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Title: My Father’s Last Letter
Author: Ruskin Bond
Publisher: ‎ Rupa Publications India
Publication Date: 5 July 2023
Print Length: 128 pages
Price (Kindle): ₹ 141
Price (Paperback): ₹ 149
My Rating:
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