The Rupa Laughter Omnibus
I wish Mr Bond had been more adventurous and given us a collection that was restricted to Indian authors. Not an easy task by any means. Our writers are very good at being ponderous. Not so good when it comes to humour. R.K. Narayan was one of the few who made you laugh. V.S. Naipaul was excruciatingly funny in his Trinidad stories. G.V. Desani hilariously disregarded all rules of English idiom and grammar in All About H. Hatterr.
The omnibus contains pieces by Bond himself and they are very good. Unfortunately, he makes the mistake of including the creative endeavours of some of his friends and neighbours. On the evidence of their prose, they should have been advised to quell their artistic urges.
