- Ecocriticism, Ruskin Bond, Nature, Water.
Abstract
“I am not a religious person but if I were to say I have a religion then I would say I am a nature worshipper.” Ruskin Bond Ruskin Bond, a prolific writer, is known for his short stories, novellas and poems and is widely popular especially in Children’s Literature Circles. His stories can be likened to an ecological narrative
designed to spread awareness about the bitter consequences of human actions that damage the planet’s basic life support system. He has received the Sahitya Akademi Award for English writing in India for ‘Our Trees Still grow in Dehra’ in 1992. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 and Padma Bhushan in 2014. Ruskin Bond’s stories breathe his great love and sincere concern for nature which is all encompassing and all pervasive.The prismatic portrayal of nature in Bond’s stories enraptures the soul. He draws our sense towards the natural brilliance manifest all around us by presenting a painstakingly drawn out record of the the natural life around him. The amazingly captured landscapes with its myriad forms of life inked by Bond’s imagination and his inimitable style come with a strong lesson on the need to protect and preserve nature. My paper proposes to study Bond’s short story entitled “Tenacity of Mountain Water” that explores
the interlinked web of life through a simple narrative. Weaving the threads of eco consciousness through the narrative, he marvels at how a tiny rivulet of water becomes a beautiful roaring cascade nourishing and beautifying the entire landscape. The story offers the informed reader a chance to investigate the underlying ecological values and also revisit the human perception of natural resources.