Bonding with Ruskin Bond’s Ghost Stories in Their First Time Screen Adaptation!

Thanks to the glorious days of the 1990s’, in India, Ruskin Bond is a household name when it comes to the best children’s book author.  In fact, he is kind of a knight in shining armour when it comes to Indian English Literature. Padma Bhushan Ruskin Bond’s popularity started to grow manifolds after the adaptation of his stories by Doordarshan in the form of the show ‘Ek Tha Rusty’ which was first aired in 1995. Although he is known for fostering children’s literature in India, only true blue book lovers know that Ruskin Bond’s contribution to literature has been much more than just innocent children’s books. He has more than 500 short stories, essays and fiction & non-fiction novels to his credit. Ghost stories, dipped in nostalgia and allegories have also been a major part of his writing. 

An adaptation of those horror stories is Parchhayee: Ghost Stories by Ruskin Bond which is currently airing on ZEE5. Before this, apart from Ek Tha Rusty, Bollywood has also adapted some of his stories such as the Hindi film ‘Junoon’ (1978) which was based on Bond’s historical novel ‘A Flight of Pigeons’, Vishal Bhardwaj’s kids movie ‘The Blue Umbrella’ and  Priyanka Chopra starer 7 Khoon Maaf  (2011). 

The major reason behind the popularity of Ruskin Bond’s stories can be the fact that they are quite relatable; the characters of his stories are etched in words that feel like they exist in some part of our world. The characters in Bond’s books like Rusty, Daddy, the Ayah, Bibiji, Somi, Ranji, Uncle Ken, Aunt Ruby, and more get connected with the readers’ lives as their emotions literally emote through this maestro’s words. Plus his stories are free from complexities, depicting the simpler way of living life. No doubt ghost stories by Ruskin Bond also became really popular; simply because they were quite believable. Rather than resorting to cheap scares, his stories explore the poignancy and charm of the characters conflicts, beyond the grave.

In an interview with Lounge, Ruskin Bond revealed that during his growing up years he used to read a lot of ghost stories and though he hasn’t seen or experienced even one in his entire life, he feels that ghosts are all around us. He told that ghost stories written by him are also inspired by the vividness of ghosts and the related folklores that we know in India. Read the full interview here . 

With some episodes already out, one can expect some out-of-the-box stories from Parchhayee: Ghost Stories by Ruskin Bond on ZEE5. They seem to faithfully adapt Ruskin Bond’s stories, keeping the nostalgia and charm intact. With each episode based on a different short story by Mr. Bond, the series features a fantastic star cast which includes Sarah Jane Dias, Farida Jalal, Dalip Tahil etc.    

So for those goosebumps and a good dose of spookiness, do watch the new web series Parchayee: Ghost Stories By Ruskin Bond right away on ZEE5.