HOW FAR IS THE

RIVER?
-RUSKIN BOND
-PRESENTED BY:
SANYA SABHARWAL KUSHA AHMED
ANAM HUSAIN BHAVYE GOYAL
SUNAND BANSAL
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

RUSKIN BONDis an Indian author.

Ruskin Bond was born in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, in 1934,
and grew up in Jamnagar (Gujrat), Dehradun, and Shimla.
Ruskin Bond was born on 19 May 1934 in a military hospital, to
Edith Clarke and Aubrey Bond and was raised by his
grandmother
The Indian Council for Child Education recognized his
pioneering role in the growth of children's literature in India,
RUSKIN and awarded him theSahitya Academy Award in 1992 forOur
BOND Trees Still Grow in Dehra, given by theSahitya Akademi. India's
National Academy of Literature.
LITRARY STYLE:
In course of a writing career spanning forty years, he has
written over a hundred short stories, essays, novels, and
more than thirty books of children.
Three collections of short stories,The Night Train at
Deoli,Time Stops At Shamli, andOur Trees Still Grow In
Dehrahave been published by Penguin India. he has also
edited two anthologies,The Penguin Book Of Indian Ghost
Stories, andThe Penguin Book Of Indian Railway Stories.4
Most of his works are influenced by life in thehill stationsat
the foothills of theHimalayas where he spent his childhood
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

John Llewellyn Rhys Prizein 1957

Sahitya Akademi Awardin 1992
Padma Shriin 1999
Padma Bhushanin 2014
 SUMMARY
How Far is The River describes irresistible desire of a young boy, who
has never seen the river in his life.
Once in a village, in a mountain valley, surrendered by woods lived a young
boy. There was a river which flowed through the mountains some miles away
from the village. The children of the village had heard about the river.
This young boy of 12 has a irresistible desire to see the river, because
he had heard about the rocks, currents and waterfalls. He wanted to
touch the flowing water.
So one day when his parents went out and he knew that they wont come
back home till late in the evening, he decided to go and take a look at
the river.
He took a loaf of bread from his house and started his journey to the river.
The path to the river dropped steeply into the valley, then rose and
went round the big mountain. It was frequently used by the villagers- the
woodcutters, milkmen, mule-drivers; but there were no villages beyond the
mountain or near the river.
The boy passed a woodcutter and asked him how far it was to the
river. The woodcutter was a short but powerful man, with a creased and
weathered face, and muscles that stood out in hard, ugly lumps.


"Seven miles," he said, which was fairly accurate. "Why do you want to know?"
"I am going to the river," said the boy.
"Alone?
"Of course."
"But it is too far. It will take you three hours to reach there, and then you have to come
back. It will be getting dark. Besides, it is not an easy road."

"But I'm a good walker," said the boy, though he had never walked further than the mile
from his house to his school.
He carried on down the path, and the woodcutter looked after him with some
misgivings and decided to keep an eye out for the boy on his way back from the
market.
The path was steep and the boy had to run most of the time. It was a dizzy,
winding path, and he slipped once or twice and slid into a bush or off the path
and down the hill. The hill was covered with lush green ferns, the trees were wound
in creepers, and a great wild dahlia would suddenly rear its golden head from the
leaves and ferns.
Soon the boy was in the valley, and the path straightened out and rose. He met a
girl who was coming from the opposite direction. She held a long curved knife
with which she had been cutting grass, and there were rings in her nose and ears,
and her arms were covered with heavy bangles. The bangles made music when she
moved her hands, and it was as though the hands spoke a language of their own.
"How far is it to the river?" asked the boy.
The girl had obviously never been to the river, or she may have been thinking of another
one, because she said "Twenty miles" without any hesitation.

The boy laughed and ran down the path. The sun was striking his side of the hill,
and the dusty path became hotter, the stones scorching the boy's feet. He was sure
he had gone half way; he had walked for over an hour.

Presently he saw another boy ahead of him, driving a few goats down the path.
"How far is the river?" he asked.
The village boy smiled in a friendly way and said, "Oh, not far, just round the next hill
and straight down.

The boy, feeling hungry, unwrapped his loaf of bread and broke it in halves,
offering one portion to the village boy. They sat on the hillside and ate in silence.

When they had finished, they walked on together and began talking, and talking;
the boy did not notice the heat of the sun and the distance he had covered and
distance he had yet to cover. But after some time his companion had to diverge
along another path, and the boy was once more on his own.
He missed the village boy. the river was not in sight either. He began to feel discouraged.
If someone had been with him, he would not have faltered; but alone, he was conscious of
this fatigue and of his isolation.
But he had come more than halfway, and he couldn't turn back; he had to see the river. If he
failed, he would always be ashamed of the experience.
So he walked on, along the hot, dust, stony path, past mud-huts and terraced fields,
until there were no more fields or huts; only forest and sun and loneliness. Now there
was no man and sign of man's influence - only trees and rocks and bramble and flowers - only
silence...,
The silence was impressive and a little frightening. It was different from the silence of a
room or street, it was the silence of space, of the unknown, the silence of God....
There wasn't any movement either, except for the bending of grass beneath the boy's feet, or
the circling of a hawk high above the pine trees.
Then, as the boy rounded a sharp band, the silence broke into sound.
A sudden roaring sound. The sound of the river.
Far down in the valley the river tumbled over rocks, fast and frenzied. The boy gasped,
and began to run. He slipped and stumbled, but still he ran. Then he was ankle-deep in the
painfully cold mountain water. And the water was blue and white and wonderful.
 BOY
Main character of the plot
CHARACTERS
SHEPHERD Friendly
12 year old, Fine features Interactive
Determined
Self-confidence

WOODCUTTER

GRASS CUTTING GIRL

Short, Powerful man THE RIVER

Weathered Face Traditional attire
Concerned Local inhabitant
Apprehensive Unaware of river location
 CHARACTER SKETCH
THE BOY

How far is the river, by Ruskin Bond beautifully narrates a story about a 12
years old boy who lives in the hills and is very curious to visit the river
which is about a trek of 3 hours from his house. The boy had heard of the
magnificence of the river by many villages and had wanted to visit it for a
very long time.
Being his age it was very smart of him to take a decision of visiting the
river when his parents were away. He was a very determined boy and left
his house with full preparation. On the way he was warned by a woodcutter
that it would be a hard way to the river but he did not loose hope and
carried on.
Even when he realised that he had reached a point where there was only
the forest and silence and he could see no human being he did not want to
be ashamed of himself. He also shared his loaf of bread with a little boy
though he did not have enough for the journey.
He was not discourage by any obstacle and conquered his dream which
 THEME OF THE STORY
'How Far is the River' circles around determination as the central theme. The boy is meagrely 12
years of age but his determination and strong will to see the river pushes him to take a 7 miles
long journey and keep marching -not knowing the path.
The urge of discovering the river shows the courage of the young boy to deal with obstacles and
and thus, conquering the aim.
This piece of literature is also based on the theme deep love for nature and people.

The author also talks about nature, defines the path- hot, dust, stony , past mud-huts and terraced
fields.
He also explains the silence of the forest and reflects the different meaning of silence in his own
perspective.
The silence was impressive and a little frightening. It was different from the silence of a room or
street, it was the silence of space, of the unknown, the silence of God.
 MAJOR EVENTS
LOVE AND AFFECTION FOR RIVER.
Between the boy and the river stood a mountain. Boy was
young and river was small but mountain was big

WAITING FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE RIVER, FINALLY

GOT WHEN HIS PARENTS WAS NOT AT HOME.
It was 11o clock and he know that his parents wouldn't be
home till evening.

STEEPY, DIZZY WINDING PATH.

The path to the river was steep and boy has to run most of the
time
MET WITH PERSONS- WOODCUTTERS, MILKMAN, MULE DRIVER
How far is the river- asked the boy

FINALLY REACHED THE RIVER

The silence broke into sound, sound of river
 MORAL OF THE STORY
The moral of the story revolves around the idea of overcoming the obstacles
that come in the way of achieving ones dream.
The story tells you that there will be risks needed to be taken in order to
achieve your dreams, there will be people to discourage you and send you
back or to give you wrong information, or companions who will stay behind
or leave you but one has to go on to achieve ones dream.
Ruskin Bond believed that to achieve a dream one needs to work hard, over
come every distraction that comes in the way and focus on the goal only. The
moral also talks about the overwhelming feeling that comes after achieving
ones dream to realize the silence has been broken by the roaring sound of
the river, to witness the sight of the river you once longed for.
THANK YOU!