''The Room on the Roof'' is a novel written by

Ruskin Bond Ruskin Bond (born 19 May 1934) is an Anglo-Indian author . His first novel, ''The Room on the Roof'', was published in 1956, and it received the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1957. Bond has authored more than 500 short stories, essays, and n ...

. It was Bond's first literary venture. Bond wrote the novel when he was seventeen and won the

John Llewellyn Rhys Prize The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize was a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama) by an author from the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and publis ...

in 1957. The novel revolves around Rusty, an orphaned seventeen-year-old Anglo-Indian boy living in

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

. Due to his guardian, Mr Harrison's strict ways, he runs away from his home to live with his Indian friends.

Summary

Rusty is an Indian. This is a story about an orphaned boy, from Anglo-Indian descent, living in a European colony in

Dehra Dera, Dero, Daro, Dhoro, Dahar or Dehra is a word in several languages of South Asia, whose meaning is ' camp', 'mound' or 'settlement'. It appears in the names of a number of places. Geography India * Dera, Himachal Pradesh * Dera Bassi, Moh ...

(a place in Uttarakhand ) with his guardian Mr. Harrison and the missionary's wife, who wants him to stay away from Indians and groom him as a pure Englishman. However, in this process, Harrison’s stringent behavior perturbs Rusty’s flourishing teenage years. While walking home in the rain, he was offered help by Somi and Ranbir who go on to become his friends. Rusty is unhappy with his life at his guardian's house and longs for freedom. He runs away from his home and lives with his friend Somi, who gets him a job as an English teacher for Kishen (Mr.Kapoor's son). At Mr.Kapoor's house, he is given a room on the roof. Mr.Kapoor is a drunkard, who has a beautiful wife, Meena Kapoor. Rusty and Meena fall in love with each other. On the way to Delhi, Meena dies in a car crash. Kishen is sent to stay with his aunt and Mr.Kapoor remarries. Rusty decides to leave India and go to England as none of his friends remain in Dehra. He decides to visit Kishen before leaving for England. In Haridwar , he learns that Kishen has run away from home and become a thief. He meets Kishen and they both leave for Dehra, where Kishen plans on opening a chaat shop and making Rusty an English professor.

Characters

*Rusty: an orphan boy *Mr John Harrison: A bad guardian of Rusty *The Missionary's wife *Kishen- The boy whom Rusty taught English and Mr.Kapoor's son *Mrs Meena Kapoor: Kishen's mother *Mr Kapoor: Kishen's father *Somi: A

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

boy, Rusty's friend and partner *Ranbir: A muscular boy and the best wrestler in the bazaar. *Suri: A bespectacled and bony boy and Somi's friend, known for his reputation as a spy. *Prickly Heat: Suri's dog *Sweeper boy

Reception

Upon release, the book received positive reviews. Santha Rama Rau of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' commented "Like an Indian bazaar itself, the book is filled with the smells, sights, sounds, confusion and subtle organization of ordinary Indian life". ''Herald Tribune'' said that the book "has a special magic of its own". ''San Francisco Chronicle'' said that the book has "considerable charm and spontaneity". ''The Guardian'' called the book "very engaging". The Scotsman commented "Moving in its simplicity and underlying tenderness...a novel of marked originality". ''The New Statesman'' said that "Mr Bond is a writer of great gifts". ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' said that "Bond so picturesquely draws the contrast from the stark and claustrophobic English part of town with the noise, colour and vibrancy of the Indian quarter. This is a touching story of love and friendship". The first official Bengali version of Ruskin Bond's The Room on the Roof has been translated by Partha Pratim Das and published by Book Farm in 2022 as "Chilekothar Ghar".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Room on the Roof Indian English-language novels 1956 novels 1956 Indian novels Coward-McCann books Works by Ruskin Bond