In The Umbrella, Ruskin Bond’s short and humorous novella, Binya acquires a beautiful blue umbrella in exchange for her lucky leopard’s claw pendant. The umbrella is described as a great blue flower that had sprung up on the dry brown hillside. Set in the picturesque hills of Garhwal, the story perfectly captures life in a village, where both heroism and redemption can be found. The blue umbrella makes Binya the envy of everyone in her village, particularly Ram Bharosa, the shop-keeper.
