The New Flower (Supplementary Reading) Lesson Summary Notes and Explanation in English Class 6th

Introduction

The writer Ruskin Bond’s personal experience lays the foundation for the lesson “The New Flower.” It revolves around the author and a little girl named Usha. While exploring the Mussoorie highlands, they come across a ‘new flower’ that neither of them recognizes. Ruskin Bond is a well-known British-born Indian writer. He wrote several inspirational children’s books and was honored with the Sahitya Akademi Award for his literary achievements. He was born in Kasauli, India, on May 19, 1934, to Edith Clarke and Aubrey Bond.

Ruskin, Usha And The New Flower!

One of the most interesting aspects of walking in the hills, according to Ruskin Bond, is arriving upon an uncommon and hardly ever seen flower. The author had been wandering among Mussoorie’s hills. Even though it was Ugadi (the first day of the Hindu calendar), he explains it still seems like mid-winter in the Himalayas. He was making his way up the winding road to his cottage. Usha, a nine-year-old girl, was returning home from school at the time. She rushes up the hill past him. When the writer catches up with her up the hill, she points to a flower blossoming on their way and deems it to be a ‘new flower.’

The ‘new flower’ was a buttery-yellow blossom that shone out against the gloomy winter grass like a dazzling star.The author didn’t know what it was called. When Usha insists on plucking the flower for him, he resists, explaining that it may be the only one blooming there and that if they leave it alone, it may yield seeds. It rained that night, and Bond went for a walk along the road the next day, expecting to see the flowers, but it had vanished in the storm. 

Two more flowers, on the other hand, had bloomed. They appeared to be two small stars that had fallen to the Earth during the night. The writer showed Usha the new flowers the next day. The author noticed goats grazing nearby two days later. He attempted to drive them away because he was worried the goats would consume them. He backed aside when a goat gave him a threatening look. One of his grandfather’s goats had knocked a visiting official into a bed of Nasturtiums, Ruskin recalled. Usha rushes to his rescue using her lovely blue umbrella and chases the goats away. The flowers were thus rescued.

The flowers faded as summer approached, and the writer forgot everything about them. Winter was soon approaching, with chilly winds sweeping in all directions. The writer once heard Usha calling him from the top of a hill. He noticed her standing in front of a beautiful bunch of golden star-shaped flowers. She was mesmerized by the scene because she had contributed in their rescue from the goats. There were now several of these blossoms scattered throughout the hillside.

Bond admits he doesn’t recognize the flowers. Usha, on the other hand, claims that she has always seen them growing in her town on the adjacent mountain, where they are known as ‘Basant,’ which means ‘Spring.’ 

Ruskin Bond is disheartened to learn that they were not, in fact, the first to discover a new species. Their disappointment, however, was outweighed by their joy. In the face of hardship, the blooms had flourished. Bond desires for them to prosper and proliferate.