Back to: Tamil Nadu Class 6 English Guide & Notes
Table of Contents
Introduction
The story is written by Ruskin Bond and it deftly depicts the speakers on emotion clearly thereby making the readers relate to it.
The Story
The story starts with the author talking about the monsoon season. He says how monsoon brings change in every corner on this planet. Out of the earth and rock and leafless boughs, the magic touch of the rains had brought life and greenness. He praises the fact that monsoon brings a change in the air which is more fresh and green and beautiful.
This monsoon also resulted some problems in the author’s household. A peepul would take root in the ceiling: a mango would sprout on the window-sill. We did not like to remove them but they had to go if the house was to be kept from falling down. However the author’s grandmother refused to have the roof falling down by keeping the tree over the roof intact.
After that, the Second World War broke out and the author was sent away to boarding school. During the holidays, he used to live with his father in Delhi while his grandparents went away to England, where later the author joined them. After several years, the author returned to the Dehradun and visited the old house.
I realize that not much has changed but as I looked across the dry water-course, my eye was immediately caught by the spectacular red blooms of the coral blossom. The beautiful tree looked heavenly and was a home to many birds who looked at the author inquisitively almost as if asking, “who-are-you, who-are-you”.
However, the trees remembered the author. They have multiplied and have sheltered many other small plants around them and while looking at them, the author realized that his grandfather‘s dream had indeed come true.
Sense of Familiarity
The sense of familiarity and home is quite prominent throughout the story. The author starts by describing monsoon in his hometown, Dehradun and also ends the story by returning to the same hometown. His sense of comfort lies in his home where he lived with his grandparents surrounded by nature.
When he goes to his hometown after many years, he sees a lot of change like the trees have given birth to many small plants and has become home to many animals but the trees remembered him. He felt at peace under the canopy of the trees. But the trees seemed to know me; they whispered among themselves and beckoned me nearer.
He realises that his grandfather‘s dream had indeed come true. Though the author doesn’t mention what dream was, we, the readers, can assume that his grandfather’s dream might have been that the legacy of the trees should continue.
Conclusion
Ruskin Bond’s story serves as a homage to home and familiarity one finds at a place where one is at peace. The author has portrayed nature at its best in the story along with the speaker’s own emotions and feelings.
