The Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond

"No-Spoiler Alert"

For someone like me, who belongs to the Doon Valley, Ruskin Bond is a childhood favorite. But the Victorian Era authors transcended him during my formative years.

Blue Umbrella's protagonist Biniya, a cowherd, leading the tedious life in her village, on her way back home stumbles upon a blue-umbrella, which defines her vanity in the rest of the book. She trades her lucky necklace for the blue umbrella, which has charmed her senses. She is eating, breathing, drinking, in short living the blue umbrella. Trading her long-possessed lucky charm wasn't an act of valor for her.

The narrative includes the episodes of her on the verge of losing the blue umbrella, once in a deep slumber on the meadows and the umbrella  scudded away by the forceful gust of wind into the chasm. She heroically, rescues it. Though, torn and washed away in luster, still the umbrella is a possession of pride in the entire village. A priced possession of her vanity.

As this review doesn't include spoilers, this story is about the fight of pride between the shopkeeper and Biniya. A shopkeeper who equally desires to own the umbrella with same fervor. He stoops down to level unimaginable to own it. Finally the story reveals itself into a moral scruple taking an unexpected turn between the shopkeeper and Biniya.

It belongs to the same sweet and short tenor of the Ruskin Bond short stories, and is a must-read for once, to take a virtual tour to the mountains. 

I personally give 3 stars to Blue umbrella and was a one-time read for me.