The Story of “Room on the Roof” follows a boy named Rusty, a 17 years old boy with no parents who live in Dehradun, Uttarakhand with his English guardians. Ruskin don’t want to live with his English guardian anymore because of their strictness towards him.
THE ROOM ON THE ROOF BY RUSKIN BOND
Summary of The Room on the Roof By Ruskin Bond
The “Room on the roof” is a first novel of famous Indian author Ruskin Bond and he wrote it when he was just 17 years old. The novel was originally published in 1956 and it has won John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1957. The story of novel center around Rusty, a 17 years old Anglo Indian orphaned boy who lives with his guardian named Mr. John Harrison and Mrs. Harrison. The Second important character of novel is Mr. John Harrison, very strict English man who don’t like Indian at all and want Rusty to stay away from Indian because he want him to be a complete Englishman. The third important character of novel is Kishan, a neighbor of Rusty who learned daily English from him.
The Story of novel starts with Rusty, a 17 years old boy with no parents who lives in Dehradun, Uttarakhand with his guardian named Mr John Harrison. His guardians are very strict who don’t like Indian at all and they does not allow Rusty to live or play with Indian because they want him to be a complete English man. Rusty do not like living with his guardian because of their strict behavior towards him for Indian and he longs for liberation. One day in morning during light rain when Rusty was returning home he meets a boy named Somi and Ranbir who helps him by giving him lift through bicycle and they go on to become Rusty’s best friends.
When Mr. and Mrs. Harrison were not in home Rusty decides to go in market with his best friends Somi and Ranbir and after enjoying with his best friends when Rusty return back to home he find out that his guardian has came back early and he gets punishment for going in market. The next day he goes to play Holi with his best friends Somi and Ranbir and one more time when he came back he get punishment for playing with his friends but this time Rusty gets angry and in anger he starts fighting with Mr. John Harrison, and when Mr. Harrison wife comes he runs away from their home.
Rusty spend first time in his life whole night outside the home crying and waiting for his best friend Somi who will come in morning to take him in his home because he don’t want to go back at his guardian home. In morning Somi comes and takes him in his home and help Rusty in getting a job as English teacher in Mr. and Mrs. Kapoor home.
Mr. and Mrs. Meena Kapoor hired him as English teacher for their son named Kishan and they gave him room on the roof in their home to live freely. Mr. Kapoor is a alcoholic man who is 20 years older than his wife, Meena and don’t care for her at all. Rusty starts attracting towards Mrs. Kapoor because of her beauty and on the other hand Mrs. Meena Kapoor also seem attracted towards him as she feel uncared by her spouse. One day Mr. and Mrs. Meena Kapoor goes in Delhi for their personal work and after few days Rusty gets a horrific news that Mr. & Mrs. Meena Kapoor had an car accident in which Mrs. Meena died.
Kishan and Rusty were shocked after hearing the news of Meena’s death and they feel very sad and heart broken for their lost. Mrs. Meena Kapoor’s death make Rusty orphaned again and now he live alone in his room on the roof. Rusty decides to go England by taking help from British Embassy and before going England he goes to meet his friend Kishan who is living in Haridwar with his aunt. When he went to Haridwar to meet Kishan he learns that Mr. Kapoor has married another woman and Kishan don’t live with them anymore. When Rusty meet Kishan he learns that he has chosen a life of crime and became a thief. Rusty advises him to quit a life of crime and thief because he don’t want to see him in prison, he told him to start a new life in Dehradun. The next morning Rusty and Kishan leaves for Dehradun to start a new life together.
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