Veteran author Ruskin Bond on Sunday formally launched a book by Guwahati-based author-journalist Manoj Kumar Goswami at his residence in Mussoorie.

Bond observed that good books will always be appreciated by readers even with amid social media and other means of engagement.

The veteran author said, “The surroundings will change, but if an author is able to tell stories that can establish a connection with the readers, those stories will find readers.”

Ruskin Bond praised Goswami for his literary and journalistic expeditions which has spanned several decades and said, “I am delighted to launch his book of short stories. I am sure, through this, he will win many more readers and please the ones he already has.”

Moreover, he remembered his own literary journey and noted that he felt fortunate to be read and appreciated by generations of readers.

Manoj Kumar Goswami in his book “Muppet and Other Stories”, has written about the intimate struggles among the natives of Assam. No matter their professions, the characters in the book always find themselves in a dilemma, dealing with the overarching theme of humanity. Love wears a veil of trust and longingness, only to be shattered by bleak reality, in his book.

The story juggles with characters like an old woman, blissfully satisfied at being the only one to know of her late husband’s darkest secrets and a youth in a bookstall, fantasizing about a woman in a sky-blue sari, with the thought of beginning a new life with her.