…the magician shrieked, ‘Someone has cut the rope! What will my boy do now?’ A minute later, down came the boy’s head. It bounced on the ground, like a coconut. This was followed by the boy’s arms, legs and body, all falling to the ground one after another. India is a land of many myths. Curiosity abounds in every corner, and at every turn, there’s some sprinkling of mystery. Soothsayers with their prophecies and wise men with their wisdom co-exist with swindlers with their stratagems and conjurers with their charms, weaving illusions to appear as powerful as the many gods that this land worships. In The Great Indian Rope Trick, Ruskin Bond puts together a selection of stories that capture both the magical and the mundane. Witness peripatetic men casting their spells, know the legends of Binsar, or just rush off with Rusty into the arms of freedom. A world of wonder awaits.