The Landour Cook Book

Ruskin Bond and Ganesh Saili share a love of good food—the only difference being that Ganesh cooks and Ruskin devours it. Ruskin admits that he has no business collaborating on an introduction to a cookery book, since the extent of his culinary efforts goes no further than boiling an egg. Ganesh, on the other hand, has been known to cook everything from banana fritters to mutton chops. Over a period of thirty years, they have been collecting Mussoorie and Landour memorabilia—old photographs, recipes, menu cards, coasters, place mats, bar stools and bar flies! Much of this collection went into the making of Mussoorie & Landour—Days of Wine and Roses, which is today a collector’s item. Ganesh has also done some picture books which Ruskin uses on stormy nights to keep his door from blowing open. When it isn’t windy, he appreciates the pictures! In revenge, Ganesh makes a castle with Ruskin’s seventy-odd published titles and waits for the wind to knock it down! Presently, he is working on an out-of-focus pictorial biography of his author friend.