The journey to Delhi was a memorable one-one of my earliest memories, in fact and seventy-five years later I can still recall that drive through the extensive forests of the Doon, through the pass in the Shivalik range, and along the banks of the Ganges canal.

Walking through Delhi brings Ruskin Bond face-to-face with a host of colourful characters the formidable Punjabi matriarch 'Bhabiji' of Rajouri who presides over her bustling joint family: Kamla who strikes sup an unlikely friendship: Frank Brain of West Patel Nagar, of the curious name and curiouser life: feathered friends who have made the old city their own: and the 'Daryaganj Strangler' who has a special affection for the city's publishers.

In this collection of short stories that is an ode to the spirit of Delhi, Ruskin Bond captures the people and the places with warmth and humour, and brings to life the magic of the city.