RESEARCH PAPER ON

‘THE BLUE UMBRELLA’: VALUABLE CODE FOR HUMAN GOODNESS AND

KINDNESS

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Dr. Gunjan Avinash Kumar

Faculty of English Roll no.: 862
NUSRL, Ranchi Semester- II
 Introduction

Ruskin bond is an Indian writer of British origin, he has been residing in Massoorie since the
last five decades. His writings are focused on children but are enjoyed by adults too. Hailed
as the pioneer in the field of literature and popularly known as a writer of children of
stories, Ruskin Bond has an equally vast fan following amongst the grown-ups. He is
perhaps. The only author to have been read by all age groups with equal pleasure. He was
born on May 19, 1934, in Kasauli, India, He is the son of Edith Clarke and Aubrey Bond. His
father served in the Royal Air Froce. Ruskin Bond has over five hundred compilations to his
credit and has been the proud recipient of the Sahitya Academy (1993) award, Padamshree
(1991) and Padma Bhusan (2014).Ruskin Bond’s characters are more factual than fictional.
He draws freely which makes him create characters that are so real that the reader can
easily relate with them.
Bond’s short stories are a meticulous observation and successful depiction of the child
characters in the light of their socio-economic background, their high moral values and super
human efforts to struggle and survive in the harsh environs of the hills. The hills which are a
source of attraction to the tourist, offer no solace to the poor residents inhabiting them. Their
life is a day to day struggle with the lack of basic amenities and poverty. The only source of
income are the tiny terraced fields which provide barely enough to keep body and soul
together. Despite these adversities the child characters in these stories display exemplary
conduct and high moral values.
This paper intends to explore the high moral values and strong will power, the undaunted
spirit and courage shown by the child character that makes her stand apart in the crowd
despite her humble and modest upbringing. Her struggle to survive in the hostile environs
without compromising on her integrity and honesty makes her extra-ordinary.
 Abstract

One of his prominent works is a short novel ‘The Blue Umbrella’, the story revolves around
Binya, Ram Bharosa, and a Blue umbrella. Setup in Garhwal part of the Himalayas, Binya
lives with her brother Bijju and her mother, one day while searching for her cattles, she
encountered some holiday-makers who in exchange of her Leopard claw neckless, gives her a
beautiful blue umbrella. Soon, the umbrella becomes the centre of attraction in the village,
one shopkeeper, Ram Bharosa being one of them wishes to get his hands on the umbrella by
alluring Binya and her Brother. In the holidays, he gets a helper named Rajaram for his tea-
shop who offered to dteal the umbrella for him, in an attempt to steal the umbrella, Rajaram
is caught by Bijju and confesses that it was Ram Bharosa who told him to do so. Due to this,
the villagers boycotted Ram Bharosas’ shop which made Binya feel she being the reason for
Ram Bharosas’ misery, one day she went to his shop to buy toffees and gave him the
umbrella. This act of kindness by Binya changed the heart of Ram Bharosa, who later gifted
Binya a silver chain with a Bear-claw pendant.
Through this short novel, Ruskin Bond teaches the great lesson of humanity, vice is not an
intrinsic feature of man but is cultivated within them with the different experiences in life,
also that, Love breeds love, depicting that a kind act can change the heart of even the most
selfish.
The remarkable combination of the literary traditions of Indian and English literature is a
clear feature of Bond’s creativity. He had been living in Mussoorie for the last 5 decades.
Since then he has been ceaselessly jotting down with his pen the unlimited mysteries of life in
a sizeable standard of his creative literature. In his literatures, he focuses the individuality of
children, and through them tries to cultivate the basic morality within the readers in their
early stage of life. He depicts the innocence of children in his fiction like other Indian
authors.
The story ‘The Blue Umbrella’ is a great example of Bond’s ability to present the intricacies
of life with much simplicity. With just an old man and little girl and a few minor characters,
he reveals to us all the sides of emotions that make us human – joy, pain, anger,
disappointment and hurt and all the tragedies and celebrations that make life what it is. Binya,
the child protagonist of the story, ‘The Blue Umbrella’ from Gharwal hills, is hardly ten years
old. She willingly lends her pleasing smile to anyone who is unhappy to cheer them up. She
possesses the heart of a fine young lady. She lives in the dark forest and lonely hill top in the
Himalayan terrain of Garhwal, five miles away from the nearest village. She stays in a tiny
house with her mother and elder brother ‘Bijju’. Economically very weak Binyas’ family
possesses three small terraced fields where they grow vegetables and crops which are barely
enough to meet their requirement. Despite being poor Binya and Bijju are very content in
their life. They have a strong will power which is rare in the children of their age. On a
childish impulse, she quickly gets ready to exchange her charmed Good-luck pendant made
up of a leopards’ claw for a dainty, blue silk umbrella. The umbrella is owned by a woman
who came for holidays in the hills. Binyas’ pendant created a stir in the heart of this lady.
With a desire to possess the pendant she reluctantly gets ready to exchange her beautiful blue
umbrella for it. After receiving the umbrella, Binya gets very happy, almost on the seventh
heaven. She gets filled with love and joy by its beauty. Her passion sees no limit for her
prized possession. She carries it wherever she goes and seldom closes it. It accompanies her
everywhere protecting her from storms and snakes, as goes the description-
“Whenever Binya went out – whether it was to graze the cows, or fetch water from
the spring, or carry milk to the little tea shop on the Tehri road –she took the
umbrella with her. That patch of sky-blue silk could always be seen on the hillside”
Binyas’ fawn like movements in dale and forest drawing others’ attention and her love for the
umbrella. Binya enjoys her raised status in the village.
The disparity between Binyas’ poverty and the richness of the umbrella created a stir of
jealousy among the villagers which could be seen in the following:

“Most of the people in the village were a little envious

of Binya’s blue umbrella. No one else had ever possessed one
like it. The schoolmaster’s wife thought it was quite wrong for
a poor cultivator ’s daughter to have such a fine umbrella while
she, a second-class B.A., had to make do with an ordinary black one.
Her husband offered to have their old umbrella dyed blue;
she gave him a scornful look, and loved him a little less than before.
The Pujari, who looked after the temple, announced that he would
buy a multicoloured umbrella the next time he was in the town.
A few days later he returned, looking annoyed and grumbling that they
weren’t available except in Delhi. Most people consoled themselves
 by saying that Binya’s pretty umbrella wouldn’t keep out the rain,
if it rained heavily; that it would shrivel in the sun, if the sun was fierce;
that it would collapse in a wind, if the wind was strong; that it would
attract lightning, if lightning fell near it; and that it would prove unlucky,
if there was any ill-luck going about. Secretly, everyone admired it. Unlike
the adults, the children didn’t have to pretend. They were full of
praise for the umbrella”,

showing that the vices (here the dual face the adults show) are not inherent in the human
beings, as the children too admired the umbrella but never tried to say ill about it.
It is through Binya, Bond raises the pertinent question on the concept of material happiness
and pointlessness of the whole process. He highlights the Indian ethics which ignore material
wealth before the felling and concern for others. The battle of wills between the old man and
the girl takes many unexpected turns. The compassionate heart of Binya wins. Despite being
poor ‘Binya’ and ‘Bijju’ are very content in their life. They have a strong will power which is
rare in the children of their age. They did not buy sweets on credit from the tea shop owned
by Ram Bharosa even though their friends did so. She discovers there is more to life than
material possession. This little lady doesn’t make a spectacle of giving away her prized
possession to the cunning Ram Bharosa, who initially tries to get it stolen when she refuses to
sell it to him, as a result of which the whole village ignores him. She quietly enters his shop
on the pretext of buying a toffee and leaves behind the umbrella. When Ram Bharosa
discovers the umbrella, he ran after her and the following happened:
“She shook her head and said, “you keep it. I
don’t need it any more.”
“But it’s such a pretty umbrella!” protested Ram Bharosa. “it’s the best umbrella
in the village.”
“I know,” said Binya. “But an umbrella isn’t everything.”
And she left the old man holding the umbrella, and went tripping down the road,
and there was nothing between her and the bright blue sky.”
Her generosity brings about a change of heart and the shy Ram Bharosa learns the art of
giving. Giving away of an inconsequential thing like an umbrella will amount to no sacrifice
to a child living in urban locale with all the luxury at his disposal but for a girl like Binya
who hasn’t possessed anything precious in life this act others makes her extra-ordinary
indeed. She bears no malice towards for showing off the frilly umbrella thereby tempting him
unknowingly. The sensitivity with which she deals with the whole situation is a trait that is
rarely found even among adults. She teaches an important lesson that is- ‘Love breeds love’.
Crooked Ram Bharosa melts. He repays her generosity by presenting her a pendant made up
of a bears’ claw (believed to be more auspicious than leopard’s claw) tied in a silver chain.
Who says the world cannot be changed? The present story proves that a kind heart can,
through sacrifice and self-less acts. The projection of an undercurrent of the inherent moral
education is very appealing. The novel pays a tribute to the basic goodness of man and
underlines better than any philosophical treatise could, that human vice and goodness are not
inborn but a result of circumstances. Who we call villain is not devoid of nobility. A touch of
compassion, an ability to share and a sense of justice can turn a heart of stone into a heart of
gold. Ram Bharosas’ case is an example of it. He rises like a phoenix from Binyas’ kindness,
lovely smile and selfless donation.
Bond effectively blends the tradition and standard of Indian and English literature in this
story. By portraying Binyas’ free spiritedness, her heroic adventure to save her umbrella from
a thief and her passion for it, and her kind heartedness by forgiving and even her spirit of
sacrifice and selflessness as she gives her umbrella to Ram Bharosa in his tough times, even
though he was believed to be the one trying to get his hands on the umbrella by wrong means.
The story communicates the lessons of kindness, sympathy, sacrifice and brotherhood.
The exemplary high moral values exhibited by Binya when she discovers Ram Bharosas’
obsession with the blue silk umbrella given to her by some picknickers in exchange for the
tiger claw pendant, places her far ahead of the children of her age.
The high moral code presented through Binya by Ruskin Bond, is her struggle for survival
and undaunted spirit makes her an inspiration for the young and old alike. The deeply
embedded sense of honesty, sensitivity and maturity makes the story didactic and a lesson in
philosophy of life. Through her ordinary involvements Binya displays extra-ordinary
qualities of head and heart.