Ruskin Bond – The Blue Umbrella

As soon as Binya sees the beautiful blue silk umbrella, she wants it. She wants the blue umbrella so badly that she is willing to exchange it for her lucky leopard’s claw pendant. No one in the village has such a fine umbrella; wherever Binya goes, the umbrella goes with her. There are many who envy Binya for her treasured possession, but the most envious of them is old Ram Bharosa, the shopkeeper who has decided that he must own the beautiful, blue umbrella. This short and humorous novella captures life in a hill village of Garhwal, where ordinary characters become heroic and find opportunities to redeem themselves.