‘I felt a sudden nostalgic longing for childhood and an urge to remain behind in my grandfather's house with its tangled memories and ghosts of yesteryear. But I was the only one left, and what could I do except climb coral and jackfruit trees?'
This is a collection of fourteen—some fiction and others semi-autobiographical—short stories by India's master storyteller, Ruskin Bond. From his early days to the present, these engaging tales include his childhood in a palace, a ghost in his house, and vignettes of his eccentric family. Feelings of nostalgia that would grip him as he moved towns rub shoulders with the excitement of youth in other stories. Also included in this collection are some of his popular fiction such as ‘The Tunnel', ‘A Special Tree' and a ‘Tiger-King's Gift'.
The Coral Tree will leave you entertained, amused and charmed with its heart-warming tales the way only Bond can.
About the Author
Ruskin Bond is known for his signature simplistic and witty writing style. He is the author of several bestselling short stories, novellas, collections, essays and children’s books; and has contributed a number of poems and articles to various magazines and anthologies. At the age of twenty-three he won the prestigious John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for his first novel, The Room on the Roof. He was also the recipient of the Padma Shri in 1999, Lifetime Achievement Award by the Delhi Government in 2012 and the Padma Bhushan in 2014.
Born in 1934, Ruskin Bond grew up in Jamnagar, Shimla, New Delhi and Dehradun. Apart from three years in the UK, he has spent all his life in India, and now lives in Landour, Mussoorie, with his adopted family.
