Sunday, April 13, 2003 Book review Ghost Stories from the Raj edited by Ruskin Bond. Rupa & Co. Pages 170. Rs 250. Be it dilapidated dak bungalows, isolated graveyards, dense forests or simply a peepal tree, there is always a possibility for the appearance of a ghost, for "ghosts require no passports. They are universal beings" and can turn up wherever, whenever and in whatever form they like. Written during 1840-1940 - "a century of ghosts" as Bond puts it - these stories present a different India, a haunted India. Among the writers who figure prominently, are keen observers of Indian customs and folklore: Lieutenant-Colonel Sleeman, Alice Perrin and C.A. Kincaid. Where these stories reveal popular Indian beliefs, they also tell something of the colonial attitudes. On the one hand, there is arrogance, selfishness and insensitivity but on the other, there is love, compassion and the capacity to sacrifice. Amidst all this is the element of the unknown. [snip] http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030413/spectrum/book7.htm ----- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Nagpur, India