No dearth of readers despite social media proliferation: Ruskin Bond

Good books continue to receive appreciation from readers despite the proliferation of social media and other means of engagement, according to veteran author Ruskin Bond.

"The surroundings will change, but if an author is able to tell stories that can establish a connection with the readers, those stories will find readers," he said after formally launching a book by Guwahati-based author-journalist Manoj Kumar Goswami at his residence in Musoorie in the northern state of Uttarakhand on Sunday (13).

Praising Goswami's literary and journalistic journey spanning several decades, Bond said, "I am delighted to launch his book of short stories. I am sure, through this, he will win many more readers and please the ones he already has."

Reminiscing his own literary journey, Bond said he feels fortunate to be read and appreciated by generations of readers.

In "Muppet and Other Stories", Goswami acknowledges the horrors of intimate struggles among the natives of Assam.

Irrespective of their professions, the characters always find themselves in a dilemma, dealing with the overarching theme of humanity. Love wears a veil of trust and longingness, only to be shattered by bleak reality.

"Muppet and Other Stories" boils in the realm of characters like an old woman, who is blissfully satisfied at being the only one to know about her deceased husband's darkest secrets and a youth at a bookstall, fantasising about a woman in a sky-blue sari, exploring opportunities to begin a new life with her.