Review of Cherry Tree
Many a child has grown up with stories by Ruskin bond. He is the reason why so many teenagers around the world have dreamt of spending typical Indian summers in Shimla and Dehradun, walking on the dusty tracks that are synonymous to school kids with 'bastas' (bags) walking back from home, dreaming of chuskis and kulfis (ice-cream) and being awed by the various distractions that their little track has to offer. Ruskin Bond, through his work, has been able to inspire in each one of us the principles that each Indian parent seeks to instill in their child: understanding the value of money, hard work, honesty and finding one's own identity. While the setting might be Indian, these values are universal in nature.
The cherry tree, while not exactly qualifying as a book, is nevertheless a heartfelt and touching story woven around the relationship between a boy Rakesh, his grandfather and his sojourn growing a cherry tree in his lawn. The book spans a the life of Rakesh, a young boy living with his grandfather in Mussoorie. He is your quintessential Indian school boy- he goes to school, skips across interesting paths that he comes across his way to home, finds joy in eating mangoes, leechis and cherries and enjoys his days playing by the tall grasses in the foothills of the Himalayas.
One day, on returning from school, he finds himself left with a cherry seed after eating cherries bought from the bazaar. He decides to plant it and watch it grow. Thus, begins the journey of Rakesh as he takes care of the plant and understands how difficult the journey of a young sapling from that of a strong tree is. He protects it from rain, from wandering goats, from the farmer's scythe, and other natural elements. He feels rewarded as he watches the first blossoms on the cherry tree, and gets flustered at the nosy caterpillar eating its leaves or the noisy bird eating its raw fruit. The story, while more famous in the form of a poem written by Bond, is equally beautiful in the form of a children's story book.
The story is everything that we would want our children to learn or what we wish our childhood would have been like. It encaptures the rosiness of childhood where we could entertain ourselves for hours just playing in the grass or chasing butterflies; when a sweet mango or a juicy cherry would provide much delight; where our adventure would be finding where the little path next to our houses would lead to or where that reclusive vine was creeping up to; and where the joy of listening to our grandparents' stories was unparalleled to any film, book or game. It teaches one the importance of not only our childhood, but that it is completely in our hands to make it a fruitful one. It teaches us that the people looking after us can encourage us to learn more by letting us see how difficult and wonderful nature can be.
The cherry tree, while not exactly qualifying as a book, is nevertheless a heartfelt and touching story woven around the relationship between a boy Rakesh, his grandfather and his sojourn growing a cherry tree in his lawn. The book spans a the life of Rakesh, a young boy living with his grandfather in Mussoorie. He is your quintessential Indian school boy- he goes to school, skips across interesting paths that he comes across his way to home, finds joy in eating mangoes, leechis and cherries and enjoys his days playing by the tall grasses in the foothills of the Himalayas.
One day, on returning from school, he finds himself left with a cherry seed after eating cherries bought from the bazaar. He decides to plant it and watch it grow. Thus, begins the journey of Rakesh as he takes care of the plant and understands how difficult the journey of a young sapling from that of a strong tree is. He protects it from rain, from wandering goats, from the farmer's scythe, and other natural elements. He feels rewarded as he watches the first blossoms on the cherry tree, and gets flustered at the nosy caterpillar eating its leaves or the noisy bird eating its raw fruit. The story, while more famous in the form of a poem written by Bond, is equally beautiful in the form of a children's story book.
The story is everything that we would want our children to learn or what we wish our childhood would have been like. It encaptures the rosiness of childhood where we could entertain ourselves for hours just playing in the grass or chasing butterflies; when a sweet mango or a juicy cherry would provide much delight; where our adventure would be finding where the little path next to our houses would lead to or where that reclusive vine was creeping up to; and where the joy of listening to our grandparents' stories was unparalleled to any film, book or game. It teaches one the importance of not only our childhood, but that it is completely in our hands to make it a fruitful one. It teaches us that the people looking after us can encourage us to learn more by letting us see how difficult and wonderful nature can be.
BY
ELDHOSE GEORGE
R.NO-18
1 comments:
Beautifully written
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