New Delhi: What, you wonder, can be new in the story of a not-yet-40, bald and a bit lonely teacher at prep school, replete with the antics of juvenile boys, a parrot that screeches "bottoms up", frolicking frogs and a violin-playing headmaster?
But Ruskin Bond, who has more than 30 children`s books to his credit, uses all the old tricks to make Christopher Oliver a funny and loveable little hero in the hills of Simla.
As a new term begins, our Olly, with his big nose, is not quite the dashing bachelor who evokes instant admiration. He wears a wig that amuses the boys no end - one day they send a barber to his door! Without it he is even declared "topless" by Anjali Ramola, the pretty colleague he is not-so-secretly in love with.
There are, of course, no secrets between the reader and Olly, as he pours his heart out in his diary. "Such a pity caning has been banned," he muses one day.
Another time he writes, "No self-respecting leopard would think of attacking and consuming Miss D`Costa. It wouldn`t get past her earrings."
Slowly it dawns that Olly is quite a man. He can teach, box, play football and give as good as he gets - in his own polite way. Bond, 75, who has honed his art with more than 300 short stories, essays and novellas, even bestows him with a quiet sense of humour. Sample this conversation with Anjali Ramola:
"You`re so gallant, Mr.Oliver. Just like an elder brother."
"Elder or older?"
"Whichever you prefer. You don`t mind, do you?"
"Better than saying I`m just like a father."
Olly it is who gets called upon to tackle every crisis, be it an army of frogs or a sleepwalking student or a lightning strike or a missing headmaster.
Bond`s prose is simple, heartwarming and decidedly funny. Some of the illustrations by Anjali Nayar are quite amusing - like the one where nurse Babcock snores so hard that a paper bag floats away by the force of her breath.
The situations may be a little predictable. And the motley crew a little typical, making you wonder if children, with today`s distractions, will fall for it.
But Bond has his finger on their pulse. As mischievous Mirchi tells Olly about his opinion of a perfect school: "A school without exams, sir."
IANS
First Published: Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 11:59