A ramble in the wilds

Name: The World Outside My Window
Author: Ruskin Bond
Publisher: Rupa Publications
Pages: 111
Price: Rs 150

As city-dwellers, we often yearn for the serenity of the natural world, but keep our doors and windows firmly shut lest any of God’s wonderful creations (other than man) drop in to say hello. A pity, as in doing so we lose out on the deep and abiding connection that we have with Mother Nature.

Nonetheless, if you have been bitten by the wildlife bug, plunge right into Ruskin Bond’s The World Outside My Window, which explores the delightful realm of colourful insects, birds and trees around us. The writer is a keen observer of all the creatures (guests) he comes across in his home, and on his many excursions around the Himalayan region. He provides little-known facts on the anatomy, behaviour, characteristics and habitats of these beings.

Did you know that the common housefly has 4,000 eye units? That the sarus crane pairs for life and is seldom seen without its mate? Or that a single bee hive may contain as many as 50,000 inhabitants, each one contributing (without any confusion) to the survival of the whole colony? Fascinating!

It may be challenging to track down foliage in the concrete jungles of our bustling cities today, but “if you are determined, you can find a wilderness close to you, no matter where you live,” says the writer, who divides his time between Mussoorie and Delhi.

He backs up this claim with the observation that there is more birdlife in the cities than in the hills and forests around our hill stations. Birds like crows, sparrows and mynas, have learnt to live with and off humans, which is why they thrive, whereas the purely wild birds are slowly disappearing with the forests.

He also walks us through the Himalayan forests replete with trees such as sal, birch, poplar, oak, chestnut, maple, rhododendron, magnolia and others, describing their scents, places where they flourish and times that they are in bloom.

The short chapters dedicated to different constituents of our native wildlife make for easy reading. It almost feels like we are ambling along with the writer, as he stops to smell the flowers, marvel at the rippling streams and listen to the enchanting melody of the Himalayan whistling thrush.

His lucid description of the humble red ant, birdsong in the mountains, the loveliness of ferns, or cactii, paints a beautiful picture in the reader’s mind. And he sprinkles the book with bits of poetry that bode well for its unhurried pace.

He also touches upon the inherent interdependence of beings (including man), a concept that needs to be reintroduced to the general population today. As the writer says, “In the long run, it is the common man, and not the scientist or conservationist, who can best give protection to the birds and animals living around him.”

The World Outside My Window comes as a breath of fresh mountain air that anyone who loves the great outdoors will find hard to resist.