The Room On The Roof And Vagrants in the Valley

Image by ShayarGautam via Flickr

Title: The Room On The Roof And Vagrants in the Valley

Author: Ruskin Bond

Main Characters: Rusty, Somi, Ranbir, Kishen, Meena, Mr.Harrison, Kapoor, Mr.Pettigrew, Sudheer, Dhevendir

Description of one of the main characters: Sudheer is one of Rusty’s favourite friends. He is a strong boy. He is a good wrestler. He is a young lad of fourteen. He travels with Rusty everywhere. Sudheer is kind and helpful.

Whom I like and Why:  I like Somi as he is the only one who cares about Rusty so much. He gives his dress and whatever Rusty wants. He finds a job for Rusty in Kishen’s house.

Whom I Dislike and Why : I dislike Ranbir as he left Rusty and went away.  After going away, he never cared about Rusty. He is a wrestler like Sudheer. He is one of Somi’s best friends. 

Setting/Theme of the story : Rusty runs away from his guardian Mr. Harrison. He becomes friends with Indians like Somi and Ranbir. He begins to work as an English tutor in the house of Meena and Kapoor. He teaches English to their son Kishen. But unfortunately Meena and Kapoor die in a car accident. Kishen starts living with Rusty. They both start on a walking tour. One day Kishen’s relatives ask Kishen to come back to them. His relatives do not allow him to be a vagrant. Rusty leaves Kishen and makes friends with Sudheer and Dhevendir. They become his best friends forever. Rusty meets his father’s friend Mr. Pettigrew. Mr. Pettigrew suggests that he meets his aunt in Rishikesh to get some money which Rusty’s father has left for him. But when Rusty goes to his aunt’s house he finds that his father had left only books to read. He brings those books to Mr. Pettigrew. Mr. Pettigrew asks Rusty to go to England. Rusty has always wanted to be a writer. Mr. Pettigrew tells Rusty that he could possibly become a writer in England soon. So Rusty goes to England and other countries to spend rest of his life. 

The Part I enjoyed the most : I enjoyed the part when Rusty plays Holi with Ranbir and becomes one of the Indians. He becomes Ranbir’s best friend.

Different ending : Rusty starts writing many stories and becomes a great writer in India. Somi and Ranbir return back to Dehra when they hear about their best friend becoming a great writer. Kishen comes back to Rusty. Everyone start calling Rusty  “ The Great Writer of Dehra”. Rusty leads a happy life.