An unusual bond

It’s not everyday that you hear Ruskin Bond sing. “But I was so bored and irritated with Mumbai’s traffic, I really considered breaking into song just to clear the cars,” says the 76-year-old Mussoorie resident only half in jest. The writer made the trudge from Colaba to Oshiwara to meet friend and fan Vishal Bhardwaj, who has based two of his films (The Blue Umbrella and Saat Khoon Maaf) on stories originally written by Bond.

“I’m a really bad singer but I quite enjoy singing. As a young man, I was fascinated by opera and would subject people to my baritone and tenor,” he says. But egg him on to sing and he surprises you with a song nowhere close to opera. Hawa mein udta jaaye, mera laal dupatta malmal ke.. err.. ka, Bond croons, sitting in the music room of Bhardwaj’s office. The music director nods approvingly.

Getting this duo together in Mumbai is a rarity. “But I’m happiest meeting Ruskinji in Mussorie,” says Bhardwaj, adding that he’s bought the house next to the author’s and they now share a wall. They actually share more than that. Both love the mountains. And enjoy a story well told, preferably over a couple of stiff drinks.

Full report here Times of India