30/05/2024
Opening the tiny gate with my wife and daughter behind me, my heart thumped. I had a copy of the magazine which had featured an article that I had written on Ghost in Hotel Savoy in Mussoorie. This magazine was my visiting card and the leverage to introduce myself.
Clutching the magazine, which incidentally had Mr. Bond on the cover, I knocked on the door with my other hand.
Some time had elapsed. "Should I knock on the door again?" I wasn't sure. That was when we heard a movement. A pair of feet walked towards the doors and as it opened inwards it revealed a woman's face. Handing her the magazine, I said that we wanted to meet Sir.
"Okay!" She replied in a matter of fact tone and she went inside. A few seconds later she reappeared and asked us to come in.
There he was, Mr. Bond, in person. The magazine was in his hand.
My first encounter with Mr. Bond was the story we had in our school course book, "A Face in the Dark." Growing up I had read almost every short story he had written. Places like Shamli, Muzzafarnagar, Dehra and the slow train to Delhi had sort of engrained in my memory.
Naturally, I wanted to write like him. So when I read the story about Hotel Savoy in Mussoorie, where I had stayed assisting the Director while shooting a tele-film, I had the ingredients. One of our spot boys had spoken to me about his encounter with a ghost late one night. I had also picked up this story but in my case the source was not any gossip but a leaflet on Hotel Savoy, written by none other than venerable Mr. Ruskin Bond.
As we touched his feet, he introduced us to his adopted family. Pointing towards the article, he said, "I had liked this."
Coming from God's own mouth straight into my ears, I was overwhelmed.
"But, Sir," I replied, "it is based on your writing."
"It's the craft. The way you have narrated the story."
"Thank you, Sir," I mumbled. I was happy that he was not treating me as a mere fan but interacting with me as a fellow writer.