In this delightful collection, Ruskin Bond introduces us to the Dehradun he knows intimately and loves unreservedly—the town that he had spent many years of his childhood and youth in. A town which, when he knew it, was one of pony-drawn tongas and rickshaws; a town fond of gossip but tolerant of human foibles; a town of lush lichi trees, charming winter gardens and cool streams; a small town, a sleepy town, a town called ‘Dehra’.
With classic stories and poems like ‘Masterji’, ‘Growing up with Trees’and ‘A Song for Lost Friends’ and previously unpublished treasures like ‘Silver Screen’, ‘Dilaram Bazaar’ and ‘Lily of the Valley’, this anthology is replete with journal entries, extracts from the author’s memoirs and, of course, poetry, non-fiction and stories set in or inspired by Dehra.
Evocative, wistful and witty as only Ruskin Bond can be, A Town Called Dehra is a celebration of a dearly-loved town as well as an elegy for a way of life gone extinct.