The Room on the Roof by Ruskin Bond | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Ruskin Bond is an Anglo-Indian author and novelist who was born on 19 May 1934 in Kasauli, India. His father was Aubrey Alexander Bond, a British Military officer posted in India and his mother was Edith Clerk. His parents got separated and divorced in 1942 and his mother married a Punjabi Hindu man. In 1944, Ruskin Bond’s father died of Malaria. Ruskin Bond is known for his short stories, essays, and novels which include 69 books for children. Ruskin Bond moved to England in 1951 and began his writing career. In 1956, his first novel The Room on the Roof was published which was a semi-autobiographical story in which he introduced the character of Rusty, an Anglo-Indian boy for the first time. The novel revolves around Rusty, an orphaned seventeen-year-old Anglo-Indian boy living in Dehradun. Due to his guardian, Mr. Harrison's strict ways, he runs away from his home to live with his Indian friends. The character of Rusty is loosely based on Ruskin Bond himself. He returned to India in 1957 and continued his writing career.

The Roof on the Roof is based on the theme of loneliness and the dangers of youthful rebellion that can lead to disillusionment and even to the dark corners of crime and misery.

Characters of The Room on the Roof :

Rusty is the main character and narrator of the story. He is an Anglo-Indian orphan adolescent boy of age 17 who lives with his guardian Mr. John Harrison, a Missionary, and his wife in Dehradun. Somi, Suri, and Ranbir are three Indian kids whom Rusty befriends. Somi is a Sikh boy while Rnabir is a Hindu boy who is known as the best wrestler in Dehra. Kishen is a teenage boy whom Rusty begins teaching English. Kishen is the son of Mr Kapoor who is an aged man. Mr. Kapoor married Meena Kapoor, a young woman about 20 years younger than Mr. Kapoor. Yasmin is a young Muslim Indian girl Rusty loves.

Summary of The Room on the Roof :

The novel is set in Dehradoon, India. Rusty is a seventeen-year-old English boy living in India. He is an orphan who is living with Mr. John Harrison, a missionary who is his strict guardian. His wife Mrs Harrison is a kind-hearted lady. Rusty is a lonely boy who is frustrated by his guardian’s stern restrictions and suffocating environment. Mr. Harrison is a missionary and wants to inculcate Christian values and moral principles in Rusty and would often use means of corporal punishment. Being a Race supremacist, Mr Harrison didn’t like Indian and wished Rusty too would avoid making any relationship with Indians. Mr. Harrison never gave him the freedom to live life on his own terms. Rusty was abode by the orders of his guardians because he knew if he broke any of such orders, no one can save him from the torture of Mr. Harrison. Due to this, he felt suffocated by them and craved independence.

One day, Rusty finds that there is an abandoned room on the roof of his guardian’s house. He decides to clean and mend it and starts spending most of his time in the room. He develops an interest in literature and would often read books of Charles Dickens while sitting in his room on the roof. Gradually, he started writing his own stories too. Yet, he missed any audience and was bereft of any friends. One day when Mr John was away, Rusty goes out for a walk to explore the vividness and bask in the fresh glory. While he was walking through the forest, there was a constant battle between his heart and mind about deciding whether to enter the bazaar or not. Finally, he followed his instinct and entered the bazaar.

While returning from the market, Rusty met a Sikh Indian boy named Somi. It was drizzling that afternoon and thus, Somi offered Rusty a lift on his bicycle. Rusty was hesitant at first but accepted to take the lift as the rainfall began taking pace. Somi and Rusty were then joined by two other boys, Suri, and Ranbir who were friends of Somi. All four boys soon developed a liking and friendship with each other and they spent a good time while bicycling on the streets. Rusty then began spending his time with his new friends. Ranbir was a strong Hindu boy who was known as the best wrestler of Dehradoon while Suri was a bespectacled and bony boy, known for his reputation as a spy. Suri also had a pet dog named Prickly Heat. Rusty would often share his stories with his newly found friends. While spending time with his friends, Rusty meets a girl named Yasmin, a sister of Suri. Rusty finds her very beautiful and feels that he loves her.

Rusty starts learning about the customs of his Indian friends and one day, he comes to know that it is the occasion of Holi. Ranbir insists Rusty play with colors and though Rusty is hesitant, he begins enjoying the colors with his friends and in the process messes up his face and clothes. After returning home, he notices that his guardian, Mr. Harrison is unable to recognize him because of the colors on his face. When Mr Harrison realizes that he is Rusty who has sullied himself and his clothes while playing Holi, a festival of lowly Indians, he gets very angry and starts beating Rusty mercilessly. Rusty fails to control his aggression and fights back against Mr. Harrison and hits him hard in the face with a huge flower vase. When Mrs Harrison sees this, she scolds Rusty and he runs away from the house.

Rusty decides never to return to his guardian’s house but finds that it is difficult to survive on the streets. He tries to find out his friends but he fails to find them because they had already gone to their homes. Rusty is forced to spend the night alone on the street. He meets Somi the next day and informs him that he has left Mr. Harrison’s house. Somi promises to help him out and takes him to his house. Rusty realizes that he is old enough to try to earn a living. Somi helps him by finding a job as a private tutor to teach English to the son of Mr Kapoor whose name is Kishen. In return for his service, Mr. Kapoor offered Rusty a room on the roof of their house and food.

Mr. Kapoor’s wife and Kishen’s mother Meena is a generous lady. Mr. Kapoor was a heavy drinker and some twenty years elder than his beautiful, charming, and young wife Meena Kapoor. Rusty finds himself attracted to Meena who treats him well. Meena notices that Rusty is infatuated by her and she too reciprocates the admiration as she feels unloved by her husband. One day, Mr. Kapoor arranges for a picnic with his family in a nearby jungle, and Rusty accompanies them. During the picnic, Mr. Kapoor again drinks too much while neglecting his wife and son. On that day, Rusty and Meena share a kiss while expressing their love for each other. After a couple of days, Mr. and Mrs. Kapoor leave for Delhi for some business while they leave Kishen with Rusty at home. After a few more days, Rusty receives a telegram that mentions the tragic news of a car accident in which Mrs. Meena Kapoor lost her life. Kishen is devastated by hearing the news of the death of his mother while Rusty feels orphaned again in his young life. Kishen’s aunt who lives in Hardwar comes to take him away leaving Rusty all alone. Rusty feels he truly loved Meena and had planned future dreams with her but now he finds nothing more for him in his life. After a few days of wallowing and self-pity, Rusty decides to leave for England in the hope of starting a new life. But, before leaving, he decides to see Kishen. He knows that he will need to visit the British consulate in Delhi for the arrangements of his travel. On his way to Delhi, Rusty decides to stop at Hardwar.

When Rusty visits Hardwar to meet Kishen he gets shocked to know that Mr Kapoor has remarried. Kishen’s aunt informs him that Kishen found it difficult to tackle with the sorrow of his mother’s death and when Mr Kapoor remarried, Kishen totally got lost and took the path of crime. Kishen became friends with some hooligans of Hardwar and became a thief. Rusty comes to know that Kishen is a wanted criminal in Hardwar. Rusty decides to find and meet Kishen and after some struggles, he succeeds in meeting Kishen. Rusty tells him to stop thieving and start living an honest life. He advises him to quit thieving as he still feels responsible for Kishen. After all, he knows what it feels like to be sad, alone, and confused. He has had his fair share of tragedy and loss.

The book – Room on the rooftop ends on a positive note with both Kishen and Rusty deciding to start a fresh life without letting the past affect the present and future.

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