Time passes, eras come to an end, empires disappear, the orphans of empire are marginalised — and yet times that have been captured in words never disappear. They stay with us always. That I believe is the haunting quality Ruskin Bond brings to a point in time in Dehra Dun. Le Carre’s scholar spy George Smiley argues that it is important to be loyal not only to one’s place but also to a time of one’s choosing. The Raj, its dying, its death and the aftermath of its death all set in a “station” at the foot of the hills which were so central to the consciousness of the sahibs — a time and a place worth being loyal to. And to celebrate it in delectable prose that seems so simple when you read it and which keeps surprising you by staying in your mind unlike other bombastic writing which draws attention to itself and later when you try to recall it, you just cannot remember what was said. Bravo Ruskin Bond Sahib — keep giving us more of this!

The writer divides his time between Mumbai, Lonavla and Bangalore jerry.rao@expressindia.com