ECHOES OF THE DAO: ANALYZING SPONTANEITY, EFFORTLESS ACTION AND COSMIC BALANCE IN RUSKIN BOND’S SELECT SHORT FICTION

Abstract

This paper intends to intersect philosophical ideas of Daoism to the short stories of Ruskin Bond. Ruskin Bond’s stories do not centre around materialistic and anthropocentric angles but configure on the naturalistic, eco critical and quiet harmony of life. It rejects the blocked, forced, coaxed way of life, giving way to free and liberated way of life. These ideas crosses its path with the philosophical ideas of Dao (the way). Profoundly, in its truest sense, the analysis from the Daoist perspective gives more depth to the short stories and making it holistic in its approach. This study examines how the stories of The Cherry Tree, The Night Train at Deoli and The Kitemaker presents the principles of Ziran (the natural spontaneity), Wu Wei (the effortless action), and Yin-Yang (the cosmic balance). It provides a pathway to understand how the trajectory flows naturally through the events in the stories without any external factors affecting the protagonists in the stories. This allows the readers to interpret life on earth and gives them a framework to lead a peaceful and liberating life, co-existing with the other elements of life.