Tradition, Modernity, and Marginal Voices: A Comparative Study of Social Vision in Ruskin Bond and Vijaydan Detha

Abstract

There is indication of the social ideas which occur in the words of Ruskin Bond and Vijaydan Detha who appear to be exceptionally sound writers with completely different backgrounds into this paper. Bond in his work delicately creates links between nature and people beautifully while Detha’s tilt towards resistance and questions the traditions and resonates with folk culture of Rajasthan in India. In this paper it is shown how both the writers deal with the conflicts that exist between modern life and our traditional culture, which is done through deep analysis of their works and understanding the themes covered in them. Bond’s stories undoubtedly bring back our faith in kindness and simple human goodness which is missing in today’s world and they kind of stand clear against all the noise of modern life and the damage people keep doing to nature while Detha, on the other hand takes old village tales and somehow turns them into weapons depicting truth showing what’s unfair and dreaming of a better and more awakened world. And when you read them together you can feel how Indian writing holds so many different voices and yet beats with the same heart of empathy and moral warmth. In a way, both writers remind us that deep cultural roots and forward looking imagination don’t have to clash, they can actually grow side by side keeping both tradition and progress alive.