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{{Short description|Indian author of British origin}}
{{Short description|Indian novelist and short story writer (born 1934)}}
{{morefootnotes|date=January 2023}}
[[File:Ruskin with his sister.jpg|thumb|Ruskin Bond with his sister, Ellen. This photograph dates back to 1938.]]
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox writer
{{Infobox writer
| name            = Ruskin Bond
| name            = Ruskin Bond
| image            = Ruskin Bond 2.jpg
| image            = Ruskin Bond in Bangalore, India (Jim Ankan Deka photography).jpg
| image_size      = 225px
| caption          = Bond in 2012
| caption          = Bond during a book release function in [[Andhra Pradesh]] (2012)
| birth_date      = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1934|05|19}}
| birth_date      = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1934|05|19|}}
| birth_place      = [[Kasauli]], [[Punjab States Agency]], [[British India]] (now in [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[India]])
| birth_place      = [[Kasauli]],<br />[[Punjab States Agency]],<br />[[British India]]<br/>(now in [[Solan district]], [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[India]])
| occupation       = {{hlist|Author|poet}}
| death_date       =  
| death_place      =
| resting_place    =
| occupation      = Author, poet
| language        = English
| language        = English
| education        = in Punjab s
| alma_mater      = [[Bishop Cotton School (Shimla)|Bishop Cotton School]]
| alma_mater      = [[Bishop Cotton School (Shimla)|Bishop Cotton School]]
| period          =
| notable_works    = ''[[The Room on the Roof]]''<br />''[[Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra]]''<br /> ''[[A Flight of Pigeons]]''<br /> ''[[The Blue Umbrella]]''<br />''Granny's Tree Climbing''<br />''[[Angry River]]''
| genre            =
| awards          = [[John Llewellyn Rhys Prize]] (1957)<br /> [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] (1992)<br /> [[Padma Shri]] (1999)<br /> [[Bal Sahitya Puraskar]] (2012)<br />[[Padma Bhushan]] (2014)
| subject          =
| movement        =
| notable_works    = ''[[The Room on the Roof]]''<br />''[[Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra]]''<br /> ''[[A Flight of Pigeons]]''<br /> ''[[The Blue Umbrella]]''<br />''[[Granny's Tree Climbing ]]''<br />''[[Angry River]]
| spouse          =
| partner          =
| children        =
| relatives        =
| awards          = [[John Llewellyn Rhys Prize]] (1956)<br /> [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] (1992)<br /> [[Padma Shri]] (1999)<br /> [[Padma Bhushan]] (2014)
| signature        =
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'''Ruskin Bond''' (born 19 May 1934) is an Indian author. His first novel, ''[[The Room on the Roof]]'', was published in 1956, and it received the [[John Llewellyn Rhys Prize]] in 1957. Bond has authored more than 500 short stories, essays, and novels which includes 69 books for children.<ref name=NDTV>{{ cite news|title=Can't Run Out Of Stories In India": Ruskin Bond Celebrates 88th Birthday|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/ruskin-bond-celebrates-88th-birthday-cant-run-out-of-stories-in-india-2988550|newspaper= [[NDTV]] }}</ref> He was awarded the [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] in 1992 for ''[[Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra]]''. He was awarded the [[Padma Shri]] in 1999 and [[Padma Bhushan]] in 2014.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web | url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf | title=Padma Awarded | publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |year=2015 | access-date=21 July 2015}}</ref> He lives with his adopted family in [[Landour|Landour, Mussoorie]], in the Indian state of [[Uttarakhand]].<ref name=NDTV/>
'''Ruskin Bond''' (born 19 May 1934) is an Indian author and poet. His first novel, ''The Room on the Roof'', published in 1956, received the [[John Llewellyn Rhys Prize]]. Bond has authored more than 500 short stories, essays, and novels which include 69 books for children.<ref name="NDTV">{{cite news|title=Can't Run Out Of Stories In India": Ruskin Bond Celebrates 88th Birthday|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/ruskin-bond-celebrates-88th-birthday-cant-run-out-of-stories-in-india-2988550|newspaper= [[NDTV]] }}</ref> He was awarded the [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] in 1992 for ''[[Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra]]''. He was awarded the [[Padma Shri]] in 1999 and the [[Padma Bhushan]] in 2014.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web | url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf | title=Padma Awarded | publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |year=2015 | access-date=21 July 2015}}</ref>


==Life and career==
==Life==
[[File:Ruskin Bond's parents- Father Aubrey Alexander Bond and Mother Edith Clarke. Infant Ruskin is nestled in his mother's arms..jpg|thumb|Ruskin Bond's parents- Father Aubrey Alexander Bond and Mother Edith Clarke. Infant Ruskin is nestled in his mother's arms.]]
Bond was born on 19 May, 1934<ref name="KhoranaGreenwood2009">{{cite book |author=Khorana |first=Meena G. |title=The life and works of Ruskin Bond|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ya3H1uOXkmAfe |date=2003 |publisher=Praegar, Greenwood |isbn=9780313311857 |page=1&ndash;10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/books/at-81-ruskin-bond-s-tryst-with-his-tireless-pen-continues/story-6st8jXIEz5EWadwoBGfWNP.html|title=At 81, Ruskin Bond's tryst with his tireless pen continues|last=Pant|first=Neha|date=19 May 2015|website=[[Hindustan Times]]|access-date=2015-10-22}}</ref> in [[Kasauli]], [[Punjab States Agency]], [[British India]]. His father, Aubrey Alexander Bond,<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |date=2014-04-05 |title=The name is Bond, Ruskin Bond |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/the-name-is-bond-ruskin-bond/story-O2lQNUuCCzWX0Nj8kdcxfN.html |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref> who was British, was born in a military camp in [[Shahjahanpur]], a small town in north India.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=Ruskin's Daddy bond |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/ruskin-39-s-daddy-bond/cid/1432439 |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=www.telegraphindia.com |language=en}}</ref> His mother, Edith Clarke,<ref name="auto1"/> was [[Anglo-Indian]].
Ruskin Bond was born on 19th May 1934  
,<ref name="KhoranaGreenwood2009">{{cite book |author1=Khorana |first=Meena G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ya3H1uOXkmAC |title=The Life and Works of Ruskin Bond |date=2003 |publisher=Praegar, Greenwood |isbn=9780313311857 |page=1&ndash;10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/books/at-81-ruskin-bond-s-tryst-with-his-tireless-pen-continues/story-6st8jXIEz5EWadwoBGfWNP.html|title=At 81, Ruskin Bond's tryst with his tireless pen continues|last=Pant|first=Neha|date=19 May 2015|website=[[Hindustan Times]]|access-date=2015-10-22}}</ref> in [[Kasauli]], [[Punjab States Agency]], [[British India]]. His father, Aubrey Alexander Bond,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-04-05 |title=The name is Bond, Ruskin Bond |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/the-name-is-bond-ruskin-bond/story-O2lQNUuCCzWX0Nj8kdcxfN.html |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref> was born in a military camp in Shahjahanpur, a small town in north India.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ruskin&#39;s Daddy bond |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/ruskin-39-s-daddy-bond/cid/1432439 |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=www.telegraphindia.com |language=en}}</ref> Later he became a tutor in a small school in the Jamnagar palace for their princes and princesses, where Ruskin also studied for his first six years. He taught English to the princesses of [[Nawanagar State|Jamnagar palace]] and Ruskin Bond and his sister Ellen lived there till he was six. Later, Ruskin's father joined the [[Royal Air Force]] in 1939 and Ruskin along with his mother and sister went to live at his maternal home at [[Dehradun]]. Shortly after that, he was sent to a boarding school in Mussoorie. When Ruskin was eight years old, his mother Edith Clerke<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-04-05 |title=The name is Bond, Ruskin Bond |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/the-name-is-bond-ruskin-bond/story-O2lQNUuCCzWX0Nj8kdcxfN.html |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref> separated from his father and married a Punjabi Hindu, Hari. His father arranged for Ruskin to be brought to New Delhi where he was posted. He was very close to his father and describes this period (1942-1944) with his father as one of the happiest times of his life. When he was ten, his father died due to malaria, while he was posted in Calcutta.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A BOND THAT ENDURES |url=https://democraticworld.in/component/k2/item/1035-a-bond-that-endures |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=democraticworld.in}}</ref> He was buried in the Bhowanipore War Cemetery in Calcutta.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ruskin&#39;s Daddy bond |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/ruskin-39-s-daddy-bond/cid/1432439 |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=www.telegraphindia.com |language=en}}</ref> Ruskin was at his boarding school in Shimla and was informed about this tragedy by his teacher. He was thoroughly heartbroken. Later, he was raised in Dehradun.


He did his schooling from [[Bishop Cotton School (Shimla)|Bishop Cotton School]] in Shimla, from where he graduated in 1951. He won several writing competitions in the school including the Irwin Divinity Prize and the Hailey Literature Prize. He wrote one of his first short stories, "Untouchable", at the age of sixteen in 1951.
His father taught English to the princesses of [[Nawanagar State|Jamnagar palace]], and Bond and his sister Ellen lived there till he was six. Later, his father joined the [[Royal Air Force]] in 1939 and Bond, along with his mother and sister, went to live at his mother's maternal home in [[Dehradun]]. Shortly after that, he was sent to a boarding school in [[Mussoorie]].


Following his high school education he went to his aunt's home in the [[Channel Islands]] in 1951 for better prospects and stayed there for two years. In London when he was 17 years old, he started writing his first novel, ''[[The Room on the Roof]]'', the semi-autobiographical story of the orphaned Anglo-Indian boy named Rusty; he did various jobs for a living. It won the [[John Llewellyn Rhys Prize]], (1957) awarded to a British Commonwealth writer under 30. He moved to London and worked in a photo studio while searching for a publisher. After getting it published, Bond used the advance money to pay the sea passage to [[Bombay]] and settle in Dehradun.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |last=Mishra |first=Prachi Raturi |date=19 May 2014 |title=The name is Bond, Ruskin Bond |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/the-name-is-bond-ruskin-bond/story-O2lQNUuCCzWX0Nj8kdcxfN.html |access-date=2015-10-21 |website=Hindustan Times}}</ref>
When Bond was eight years old, his mother separated from his father and married a Punjabi [[Hindu]], Hari. His father arranged for Bond to be brought to New Delhi where he was posted. Bond was very close to his father and describes this period (1942–1944) with his father as one of the happiest times of his life. When he was ten, however, his father died of [[malaria]] while posted in [[Calcutta]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=A BOND THAT ENDURES |url=https://democraticworld.in/component/k2/item/1035-a-bond-that-endures |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=democraticworld.in}}</ref> and was buried in the Bhowanipore War Cemetery in Calcutta.<ref name="auto" /> At the time, Bond was at his boarding school in [[Shimla]] and when informed about this tragedy by his teacher, he was thoroughly heartbroken. Later, he was raised in Dehradun.


He worked for a few years freelancing from [[Delhi]] and Dehradun.<ref name="all india">{{cite web |author=Sinha |first=Arpita |date=18 May 2010 |title=The name is Bond, Ruskin Bond |url=http://www.allindianewssite.com/7396/the-name-is-bond-ruskin-bond |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007050639/http://www.allindianewssite.com/7396/the-name-is-bond-ruskin-bond/ |archive-date=7 October 2011 |access-date=3 March 2011}}</ref> He sustained himself financially by writing short stories and poems for newspapers and magazines. On his youth, he said, "Sometimes I got lucky and some [work] got selected and I earned a few hundred rupees. Since I was in my 20s and didn't have any responsibilities I was just happy to be doing what I loved doing best."<ref name=":1" /> In 1963, he went to live in [[Mussoorie]] because besides liking the place, it was close to the editors and publishers in Delhi. He edited a magazine for four years. In the 1980s, [[Penguin Books|Penguin]] set up in India and approached him to write some books. He had written ''Vagrants in the Valley'' in 1956, as a sequel to ''The Room on the Roof''. These two novels were published in one volume by [[Penguin India]] in 1993. The following year a collection of his non-fiction writings, ''The Best of Ruskin Bond'' was published by Penguin India. His interest in supernatural fiction led him to write popular titles such as ''Ghost Stories from the Raj'', ''A Season of Ghosts'', and ''A Face in the Dark and other Hauntings''. Since then he has written over five hundred short stories, essays and novels, including ''[[The Blue Umbrella]]'', ''Funny Side Up'', ''[[A Flight of Pigeons]]''(Hindi film junoon was based on this story) and more than 50 books for children. He has also published his autobiography: ''Scenes from a Writer's Life'' describes his formative years growing up in Anglo-India and a further [[autobiography]], ''Lone Fox Dancing'', was published in 2017. ''The Lamp is Lit'' is a collection of essays and episodes from his journal.
He attended [[Bishop Cotton School (Shimla)|Bishop Cotton School]] in Shimla, graduating in 1951. There he won several writing competitions, including the Irwin Divinity Prize and the Hailey Literature Prize. He wrote one of his first short stories, "Untouchable", at the age of sixteen in 1951.


Since 1963 he has lived as a freelance writer in Mussoorie, a town in the Himalayan foothills in [[Uttarakhand]] where he lives with his adoptive family in [[Landour]], Mussoorie's Ivy Cottage, which has been his home since 1980.<ref name="WALKTALK">{{cite interview |last= Bond |first= Ruskin |subject-link= Ruskin Bond |interviewer=[[Shekhar Gupta]] |title= Walk the Talk with Ruskin Bond|url=http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/walk-the-talk/walk-the-talk-with-ruskin-bond/255948?hp&livevideo-featured|publisher= [[NDTV]] |location= Delhi |date= 24 November 2012|access-date= 18 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dhir |first=L. Aruna |date=2018-04-02 |title=The interview that Ruskin Bond called his finest |url=https://www.dailyo.in/arts/ruskin-bond-writers-literature-writing-himalayas/story/1/23215.html |access-date=2020-01-13 |website=DailyO.in}}</ref> Asked what he likes the most about his life, he said, "That I have been able to write for so long. I started at the age of 17 or 18 and I am still writing. If I were not a professional writer who was getting published I would still write."<ref name=":0" /> In his essay, ''"Scenes from a Writer's Life"'', he explains his Indian identity, "Race did not make me one. Religion did not make me one. But history did. And in the long run, it's history that counts."<ref name="KhoranaGreenwood2009" />
Following high school, he went to his aunt's home in the [[Channel Islands]] in 1951 for better prospects and stayed there for two years. In London when he was seventeen years old, he started writing his first novel, ''[[The Room on the Roof]]'', the semi-autobiographical story of the orphaned Anglo-Indian boy named Rusty. It won the [[John Llewellyn Rhys Prize]], (1957) awarded to a British Commonwealth writer under 30. While searching for a publisher, he worked in a photo studio in London. After getting his novel published, he used the advance money to pay sea passage to return to India and settled in Dehradun.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |last=Mishra |first=Prachi Raturi |date=19 May 2014 |title=The name is Bond, Ruskin Bond |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/the-name-is-bond-ruskin-bond/story-O2lQNUuCCzWX0Nj8kdcxfN.html |access-date=2015-10-21 |website=Hindustan Times}}</ref>


His sister Ellen lived in [[Ludhiana]] with his stepsister until she died in 2014. He also has a brother, William, who lives in Canada.
He worked for a few years freelancing from [[Delhi]] and Dehradun,<ref name="all india">{{cite web |author=Sinha |first=Arpita |date=18 May 2010 |title=The name is Bond, Ruskin Bond |url=http://www.allindianewssite.com/7396/the-name-is-bond-ruskin-bond |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007050639/http://www.allindianewssite.com/7396/the-name-is-bond-ruskin-bond/ |archive-date=7 October 2011 |access-date=3 March 2011}}</ref> sustaining himself financially by writing short stories and poems for newspapers and magazines. About his youth, he said, "Sometimes I got lucky and some [of my works] got selected and I earned a few hundred rupees. Since I was in my 20s and didn't have any responsibilities I was just happy to be doing what I loved doing best."<ref name=":1" />


==Writing life==
In 1963, Bond went to live in Mussoorie, a town in the Himalayan foothills in present day [[Uttarakhand]], because—besides his liking of the place—it was close to the editors and publishers in Delhi. He edited a magazine for four years. In the 1980s, [[Penguin Books|Penguin]] set up in India and approached him to write some books. [[Penguin India]] published two of his novels: ''The Room on the Roof'' and ''Vagrants in the Valley'', which Bond had written in 1956 as a sequel. These two novels were published in one volume in 1993. The following year, Penguin India published a collection of his non-fiction writings, ''The Best of Bond Bond''. Bond's interest in supernatural fiction led him to write popular titles such as ''Ghost Stories from the Raj'', ''A Season of Ghosts'', and ''A Face in the Dark and Other Hauntings''.
Most of his works are influenced by life in the hill stations at the foothills of the [[Himalayas]], where he spent his childhood.''The Room on the Roof'', was written when he was 16 and published when he was 21. It was partly based on his experiences at Dehradun, in his small rented room on the roof, and his friends. His earlier works were written without it being meant for any particular readership.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-authors/how-ruskin-bond-keeps-the-magic-of-boyhood-alive/article30137128.ece|title=How Ruskin Bond keeps the magic of boyhood alive|last=Zachariah|first=Preeti|date=2019-12-02|work=The Hindu|access-date=2020-01-13|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X|quote=Though 'Children's Author' is a tag that he is usually associated with, Bond began writing for children only in his forties. "I was always good at writing about children. But I wrote those stories without a reader in mind",}}</ref> His first [[children's book]], ''[[Angry River]]'', published in 1972, had its writing toned down on a publisher's request for a children's story.<ref name=":0" /> On writing for children, he said, "I had a pretty lonely childhood and it helps me to understand a child better."<ref>{{cite web|title = My writings reflect my lonely childhood: Ruskin Bond – Firstpost|url = http://www.firstpost.com/living/my-writings-reflect-my-lonely-childhood-ruskin-bond-1473243.html|website = Firstpost| date=9 April 2014 |access-date = 2015-10-22}}</ref> Bond's work reflects his [[Anglo-Indian people|Anglo-Indian]] experiences and the changing political, social and cultural aspects of India, having been through colonial, postcolonial and post-independence phases of India.<ref name="KhoranaGreenwood2009" />


Bond said that while his autobiographical work, ''Rain in the Mountains'', was about his years spent in Mussoorie, ''Scenes from a Writer's Life'' described his first 21 years. ''Scenes from a Writer's Life'' focuses on Bond's trip to England, his struggle to find a publisher for his first book ''The Room on the Roof'' and his yearning to come back to India, particularly to [[Doon Valley|Doon]]. "It also tells a lot about my parents", said Bond. "The book ends with the publication of my first novel and my decision to make writing my livelihood", Bond said, adding: "Basically, it describes how I became a writer".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bond |first=Ruskin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F_4OxcTFMpwC |title=Scenes from a Writer's Life |date=2017-08-29 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-81-8475-450-6 |language=en}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date = October 2015}}
Since then, he has written over five hundred short stories, essays and novels, including ''[[The Blue Umbrella]]'', ''Funny Side Up'', ''[[A Flight of Pigeons]]'' (on which the Hindi film ''Junoon'' is based), and more than 50 books for children. He also published his autobiography in what might be called two installments: ''Scenes from a Writer's Life,'' describing his formative years growing up in Anglo-India, and a further [[autobiography]], ''Lone Fox Dancing''. ''The Lamp is Lit'' is a collection of essays and episodes from his journal.[[File: Ruskin Bond with his sister, Ellen 1938.jpg|thumb|Ruskin Bond with his sister, Ellen. This photograph dates back to 1938.]]


Being a writer for over 50 years, Bond experimented with different genres; early works include [[fiction]], [[short stories]], [[novella]] with some being [[Auto-biographical Novella|autobiographical]]. Later, he tried out [[non-fiction]], [[Romance novels|romance]]<ref name=":1" /> and [[Children's literature|books for children]]. He said his favourite genres are [[essays]] and short stories.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Kumar |first=Ramendra |date=10 December 2010 |title=A Landour day with Ruskin Bond |url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-life/article1027118.ece |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108202224/http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-life/article1027118.ece |archive-date=8 January 2016 |access-date=2015-10-20 |website=Business Line |publisher=The Hindu}}</ref> He considers himself a "visual writer" because for short stories, he first imagines it like a film and then notes it down. For an essay or [[Travelogue (literature)|travelogue]], such planning is not needed for him. He feels the unexpected there makes it more exciting.<ref name=":0" /> Bond likes ''[[Just William]]'' by [[Richmal Crompton]], ''[[Billy Bunter]]'' by [[Charles Hamilton (writer)|Charles Hamilton]] and classics such as ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]'' and works by [[Charles Dickens]] and [[Mark Twain]].<ref name=":0" />
Since 1963, Bond has lived as a freelance writer in Mussoorie, staying with his adoptive family in [[Landour]], Mussoorie's Ivy Cottage, which has been his home since 1980.<ref name="WALKTALK">{{cite interview |last= Bond |first= Ruskin |subject-link= Ruskin Bond |interviewer=[[Shekhar Gupta]] |title= Walk the Talk with Ruskin Bond|url=http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/walk-the-talk/walk-the-talk-with-ruskin-bond/255948?hp&livevideo-featured|publisher= [[NDTV]] |location= Delhi |date= 24 November 2012|access-date= 18 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dhir |first=L. Aruna |date=2018-04-02 |title=The interview that Ruskin Bond called his finest |url=https://www.dailyo.in/arts/ruskin-bond-writers-literature-writing-himalayas/story/1/23215.html |access-date=2020-01-13 |website=DailyO.in}}</ref> Asked what he likes most about his life, he said, "That I have been able to write for so long. I started at the age of 17 or 18 and I am still writing. If I were not a professional writer who was getting published I would still write."<ref name=":0" />


== Filmography ==
His sister Ellen lived in [[Ludhiana]] with their stepsister until she died in 2014. He also has a brother, William, who lives in [[Canada]].
The 1978 [[Hindi|Bollywood]] film ''[[Junoon (1978 film)|Junoon]]'' is based on Bond's  novel ''[[A Flight of Pigeons]]'' (about an episode during the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]]). It was produced by [[Shashi Kapoor]] and directed by [[Shyam Benegal]].


The Rusty stories have been adapted into a [[Doordarshan]] TV series ''[[Ek Tha Rusty (TV series)|Ek Tha Rusty]]''. Several stories have been incorporated into the school curriculum in India, including ''The Night Train at Deoli, Time Stops at Shamli'' and ''Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra''.
==Literary career==
Most of Bond's works are influenced by life in the hill stations in the foothills of the [[Himalayas]], where he spent his childhood. ''The Room on the Roof'', was written when he was 17 and published when he was 22. It was partly based on the experiences of him and his friends in his small rented room on the roof in Dehradun. His earlier works were written without being meant for any particular readership.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-authors/how-ruskin-bond-keeps-the-magic-of-boyhood-alive/article30137128.ece|title=How Ruskin Bond keeps the magic of boyhood alive|last=Zachariah|first=Preeti|date=2019-12-02|work=The Hindu|access-date=2020-01-13|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X|quote=Though 'Children's Author' is a tag that he is usually associated with, Bond began writing for children only in his forties. "I was always good at writing about children. But I wrote those stories without a reader in mind",}}</ref> The writing of his first [[children's book]], ''[[Angry River]]'', published in 1972, was toned down on a publisher's request for a children's story.<ref name=":0" /> About writing for children, Bond said, "I had a pretty lonely childhood and it helps me to understand a child better."<ref>{{cite web|title = My writings reflect my lonely childhood: Ruskin Bond – Firstpost|url = http://www.firstpost.com/living/my-writings-reflect-my-lonely-childhood-ruskin-bond-1473243.html|website = Firstpost| date=9 April 2014 |access-date = 2015-10-22}}</ref>


In 2005, the Bollywood director [[Vishal Bhardwaj]] made a film based on his popular novel for children, ''The Blue Umbrella''. The movie won the [[National Film Award for Best Children's Film]].
His work reflects his [[Anglo-Indian people|Anglo-Indian]] experiences and the changing political, social and cultural aspects of India, having been through colonial, postcolonial and post-independence phases of India.<ref name="KhoranaGreenwood2009" />


Ruskin Bond made his maiden big-screen appearance with ain [[Vishal Bhardwaj]]'s film ''[[7 Khoon Maaf]]'' in 2011, based on his short story ''Susanna's Seven Husbands''. Bond appears as a Bishop in the movie with [[Priyanka Chopra]] playing the title role.<ref>{{cite news |date=24 January 2011 |title=Ruskin Bond to do a cameo in 'Saat Khoon..' |work=The Times of India |agency=IANS |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Ruskin-Bond-to-do-a-cameo-in-Saat-Khoon/articleshow/7347368.cms |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128201930/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Ruskin-Bond-to-do-a-cameo-in-Saat-Khoon/articleshow/7347368.cms |archive-date=28 January 2011}}</ref> Bond had earlier collaborated with Bharadwaj in ''[[The Blue Umbrella (2005 film)|The Blue Umbrella]]'' which was also based on one of his works.
Bond said that while his autobiographical work, ''Rain in the Mountains valley'', was about his years spent in Mussoorie. ''Scenes from a Writer's Life'' described his first 21 years. ''Scenes from a Writer's Life'' focuses on Bond's trip to England, his struggle to find a publisher for his first book ''The Room on the Roof'' and his yearning to come back to India, particularly to [[Doon Valley|Doon]]. "It also tells a lot about my parents", said Bond. "The book ends with the publication of my first novel and my decision to make writing my livelihood", he explained, adding: "Basically, it describes how I became a writer".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bond |first=Ruskin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F_4OxcTFMpwC |title=Scenes from a Writer's Life |date=2017-08-29 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-81-8475-450-6 |language=en}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date = October 2015}}


== Rusty ==
Being a writer for over 50 years, Bond experimented with different genres. His early works include [[fiction]], [[short stories]], and [[novella]]s with some being [[Auto-biographical Novella|autobiographical]]; and later he tried out [[non-fiction]], [[Romance novels|romance]]<ref name=":1" /> and [[Children's literature|books for children]]. He said that his favourite writing genres are [[essays]] and short stories.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Kumar |first=Ramendra |date=10 December 2010 |title=A Landour day with Ruskin Bond |url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-life/article1027118.ece |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108202224/http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-life/article1027118.ece |archive-date=8 January 2016 |access-date=2015-10-20 |website=Business Line |publisher=The Hindu}}</ref>  
Rusty is a popular fictional character created by Ruskin Bond. Rusty is a sixteen-year-old Anglo-Indian boy living in [Dehradun]. He is orphaned and has no real family. He starts living with his guardian Mr. John Harrison, who is stern and harsh in his manners. Rusty is obliged to follow the orders and rules of his guardian and dares not disobey him. He feels helpless because he knows that if he disobeys Mr. John, he will get caned. He doesn't have any real friends and he finds himself very lonely in his guardian's house.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2016/mar/21/room-on-the-roof-ruskin-bond-review|title=Room on the Roof by Ruskin Bond – review|last=Adya@Youngbookreporters|date=2016-03-21|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-05-30|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> He lives in the European part of Dehradun, but wants to embrace Indian culture and lifestyle.<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 April 2013 |title=The Room on the Roof by Ruskin Bond |language=en |work=The Hindu |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-youngworld/the-room-on-the-roof-by-ruskin-bond/article4646130.ece |access-date=2017-05-30}}</ref> He makes friends with some Indian boys in the local marketplace. He hides the fact from Mr John and continues to go on secret adventures with them. Very soon he decides to run away from the captivity of Mr John and go back to England. Rusty's character offers a teenager's perspective who is battling with his confusions about life, relationship, happiness and love.


=== Inspiration for the character ===
He considers himself a "visual writer" because for short stories, he first imagines them like a film and then notes them down. For an essay or [[Travelogue (literature)|travelogue]], however, he finds such planning not needed because he feels the unexpected makes them more exciting.<ref name=":0" />
Rusty was created by Ruskin Bond to write stories about his own past. His first book, ''[[The Room on the Roof]]'', which he wrote at the age of 17, was a semi-autobiographical story with Rusty being the protagonist.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Singh |first=Tanaya |date=2016-01-03 |title=Ruskin Bond Brings Back Rusty. After More than a Decade. |language=en-US |work=[[The Better India]] |url=http://www.thebetterindia.com/41571/ruskin-bond-new-book/ |access-date=2017-05-30}}</ref> It was based on his friends and the time he spent in a rented room, when he was in [[Dehradun]].<ref>{{cite web |date=18 May 2016 |title=5 popular books by Ruskin Bond you shouldn't miss : Art and Culture |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/education/story/5-popular-books-by-ruskin-bond/1/671163.html |access-date=2017-05-30 |website=India Today}}</ref> Most of Rusty's initial years are set in the location of Dehradun, a scenic place in northern India. Ruskin Bond was deeply attached to Dehra and most of his stories are inspired by the hills and valleys of this region.


==== Novels and short stories featuring Rusty ====
As for his own reading, Bond named ''[[Just William]]'' by [[Richmal Crompton]], ''[[Billy Bunter]]'' by [[Charles Hamilton (writer)|Charles Hamilton]] and classics such as ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]'' and works by [[Charles Dickens]] and [[Mark Twain]].<ref name=":0" />
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
 
== Adaptations ==
The 1978 [[Hindi|Bollywood]] film ''[[Junoon (1978 film)|Junoon]]'' is based on Bond's  novel ''[[A Flight of Pigeons]],'' about an episode during the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]]. It was produced by & features [[Shashi Kapoor]] and directed by [[Shyam Benegal]].
 
The Rusty stories have been adapted into a [[Doordarshan]] TV series ''[[Ek Tha Rusty (TV series)|Ek Tha Rusty]]''. Several stories have been incorporated into the Indian school curriculum, including ''The Night Train at Deoli'', ''Time Stops at Shamli'' and ''Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra''.
 
In 2005, the Bollywood director [[Vishal Bhardwaj]] made a film based on Bond's popular novel for children, ''[[The Blue Umbrella (2005 film)|The Blue Umbrella]]''. The movie went on to win the [[National Film Award for Best Children's Film]].
 
Bond made his maiden big-screen appearance with Vishal Bhardwaj's film ''[[7 Khoon Maaf]]'' in 2011, based on his short story ''Susanna's Seven Husbands''. In the movie, Bond appears as a bishop with [[Priyanka Chopra]] playing the title role.<ref>{{cite news |date=24 January 2011 |title=Ruskin Bond to do a cameo in 'Saat Khoon..' |work=The Times of India |agency=IANS |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Ruskin-Bond-to-do-a-cameo-in-Saat-Khoon/articleshow/7347368.cms |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128201930/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Ruskin-Bond-to-do-a-cameo-in-Saat-Khoon/articleshow/7347368.cms |archive-date=28 January 2011}}</ref>
 
''[[Parchhayee: Ghost Stories by Ruskin Bond]]'', an Indian web series released on [[Zee5]], is based on the ghost stories written by Bond.
 
A short film titled ''[[Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan]]'', featuring [[Vikrant Massey]], was later released, which was adapted from Bond’s short story ''The Eyes Have It''.
 
== The ''Rusty'' character ==
Rusty is  a popular fictional character created by Bond: a 16-year-old orphaned Anglo-Indian boy living in [[Dehradun]] with no real family. Rusty's character offers a teenager's perspective on battling with confusions about life, relationship, happiness and love. He starts living with his guardian John Harrison, who is stern and harsh. Rusty is obliged to follow his guardian's rules and orders and doesn't dare disobey which makes him feel helpless because he knows that if he does, he will get caned. He has no real friends and finds himself very lonely in his guardian's house<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2016/mar/21/room-on-the-roof-ruskin-bond-review|title=Room on the Roof by Ruskin Bond – review|last=Adya@Youngbookreporters|date=2016-03-21|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-05-30|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> in the European part of Dehradun. He wants to embrace Indian culture and lifestyle,<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 April 2013 |title=The Room on the Roof by Ruskin Bond |language=en |work=The Hindu |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-youngworld/the-room-on-the-roof-by-ruskin-bond/article4646130.ece |access-date=2017-05-30}}</ref> and so he makes friends with some Indian boys in the local marketplace, hiding this from Harrison, continuing to go on secret adventures with them. Soon he decides to run away from the captivity of Harrison and go to England.
 
The character of Rusty was based on Bond himself as a teenager. His first book, ''[[The Room on the Roof]]'', which he wrote at the age of 17, was a semi-autobiographical story with Rusty being the protagonist.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Singh |first=Tanaya |date=2016-01-03 |title=Ruskin Bond Brings Back Rusty. After More than a Decade. |language=en-US |work=[[The Better India]] |url=http://www.thebetterindia.com/41571/ruskin-bond-new-book/ |access-date=2017-05-30}}</ref> It was based on his friends and the time he spent in a rented room in [[Dehradun]].<ref>{{cite web |date=18 May 2016 |title=5 popular books by Ruskin Bond you shouldn't miss : Art and Culture |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/5-popular-books-by-ruskin-bond-324251-2016-05-18 |access-date=2017-05-30 |website=India Today |archive-date=30 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170530014652/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/education/story/5-popular-books-by-ruskin-bond/1/671163.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Most of Rusty's initial years are set in Dehradun, a scenic locale in northern India. Bond was deeply attached to Dehra and most of his stories are inspired by the hills and valleys of this region.
 
Novels and short stories featuring Rusty include:{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* ''[[The Room on the Roof]]''
* ''[[The Room on the Roof]]''
* ''Vagrants in the Valley'' (a sequel to Room on the Roof)
* ''Vagrants in the Valley'' (a sequel to ''The Room on the Roof'')
* ''Rusty, the Boy from the Hills'' (collection of short stories)
* ''Rusty, the Boy from the Hills'' (collection of short stories)
* ''Rusty Runs Away'' (collection of short stories)
* ''Rusty Runs Away'' (collection of short stories)
* ''Rusty and the Magic Mountain''
* ''Rusty and the Magic Mountain''
* ''Rusty goes to London''
* ''Rusty Goes to London''
* ''Rusty Comes Home''  
* ''Rusty Comes Home''  
* ''The Adventures of Rusty''
* ''The Adventures of Rusty'' (collection of short stories)
* ''Delhi is not far''
* ''Delhi Is Not Far''
*"Rusty plays Holi"{{div col end}}
* ''Rusty Plays Holi ''
* ''Rusty and the Leopard''{{div col end}}
 
== Bibliography ==


===Novels===
===Novels===
Line 92: Line 88:
* ''[[The Room on the Roof]]''
* ''[[The Room on the Roof]]''
* ''Vagrants in the Valley''
* ''Vagrants in the Valley''
* ''[[Rusty Runs Away]]''
* ''Rusty Runs Away''
* ''[[A Flight of Pigeons]]''
* ''[[A Flight of Pigeons]]''
* ''[[The Sensualist (Ruskin Bond)|The Sensualist]]''
* ''[[The Sensualist (Ruskin Bond)|The Sensualist]]''
* ''The Panther's Moon''
* ''The Panther's Moon''
* ''Once Upon A Monsoon Time''
* ''Once Upon a Monsoon Time''
* ''Delhi is Not Far''
* ''Delhi Is Not Far''
* ''[[Angry River]]''
* ''[[Angry River]]''
* ''[[The Woman on Platform 8]]''
* ''[[The Woman on Platform 8]]''
* ''Strangers in the Night''
* ''Strangers in the Night''
* ''All Roads Lead To Ganga''
* ''All Roads Lead to Ganga''
* ''Tales of Fosterganj''
* ''Tales of Fosterganj''
* ''Maharani''
* ''Maharani''
* ''Leopard on the Mountain''
* ''Leopard on the Mountain''
* ''[[Grandfather's Private Zoo]]''
* ''Grandfather's Private Zoo''
* ''In Grandfather's Garden''
* ''[[The Blue Umbrella]]''
* ''[[The Blue Umbrella]]''
* ''Too Much Trouble''
* ''Too Much Trouble''
* ''When The Tiger Was King''
* ''When the Tiger Was King''
* "Cherry Tree"
* ''Cherry Tree''
* "The Great Train Journey"
* ''The Great Train Journey''
* Children Of India
* ''Children of India''
* Owls In The Family
* ''Owls in the Family''
* Dust On The Mountain
* ''Dust on the Mountain''
*Adventures Of Toto
* ''The Adventures of Toto''
* The House Of Strange Stories
* ''He said it with Arsenic''
* Big Business
* ''A Season of Ghosts''
* When the Night Falls
* ''The Song of the Forest''
{{div col end}}
{{div col end}}


=== Memories ===
=== Memories ===
*''Landour Days – A writers Journal''
*''Landour Days: A Writer's Journal''
*''Scenes from a Writer's Life''
*''Scenes from a Writer's Life''
*''With Love From The Hills''
*''With Love from the Hills''
*''Roads To Mussoorie''
*''Roads to Mussoorie''
*''Looking for the Rainbow''
*''Looking for the Rainbow''
*''Till the Clouds Roll By''
*''Till the Clouds Roll By''
*''Coming Round the Mountain''
*''Coming Round the Mountain''
*''A Song of India''
*''A Song of India''
*''All the roads lead to Ganga''
*''All the Roads Lead to Ganga''
 
*''Lone fox dancing''
===Non-fiction===
* ''It's a Wonderful Life: Roads to Happiness''
* ''A Golf Story: Celebrating 125 Years of the Bangalore Golf Club''
* ''Happy Birthday, World!''


==See also==
==See also==
 
{{Portal|Children's literature}}
* [[Ek Tha Rusty]], a [[Doordarshan]] TV show based on Bond's stories
* [[List of Indian writers]]
* [[List of Indian writers]]
Rabindra Nath Tagore


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
 
{{Wikiquote}}
 
{{commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150421234458/http://readingrainbow.in/interview-ruskin.shtml Interview with Ruskin Bond by Atula Ahuja]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150421234458/http://readingrainbow.in/interview-ruskin.shtml Interview with Ruskin Bond by Atula Ahuja]
{{Sahitya Akademi Award for English}}
{{Sahitya Akademi Award for English}}
{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 2010–19}}
{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 2010–19}}
{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Literature & Education}}
{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Literature & Education}}
 
{{Portal bar|Biography|India|Literature|English language}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


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[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:Anglo-Indian people]]
[[Category:Anglo-Indian people]]
[[Category:English-language writers from India]]
[[Category:English-language Indian writers]]
[[Category:Ghost story writers]]
[[Category:Ghost story writers]]
[[Category:Indian male novelists]]
[[Category:Indian male novelists]]
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[[Category:Novelists from Uttarakhand]]
[[Category:Novelists from Uttarakhand]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in English]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in English]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian novelists]]
[[Category:Indian children's writers]]
[[Category:Indian children's writers]]
[[Category:People from Solan district]]
[[Category:People from Kasauli]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:Bishop Cotton School Shimla alumni]]
[[Category:Bishop Cotton School Shimla alumni]]
[[Category:Himalayan studies]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian short story writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian short story writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian male writers]]

Latest revision as of 19:17, 28 March 2026


Ruskin Bond
Bond in 2012
Bond in 2012
Born (1934-05-19) 19 May 1934 (age 92)
Kasauli, Punjab States Agency, British India (now in Himachal Pradesh, India)
Occupation
  • Author
  • poet
LanguageEnglish
Alma materBishop Cotton School
Notable worksThe Room on the Roof
Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra
A Flight of Pigeons
The Blue Umbrella
Granny's Tree Climbing
Angry River
Notable awardsJohn Llewellyn Rhys Prize (1957)
Sahitya Akademi Award (1992)
Padma Shri (1999)
Bal Sahitya Puraskar (2012)
Padma Bhushan (2014)

Ruskin Bond (born 19 May 1934) is an Indian author and poet. His first novel, The Room on the Roof, published in 1956, received the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. Bond has authored more than 500 short stories, essays, and novels which include 69 books for children.[1] He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992 for Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2014.[2]

Life[edit | edit source]

Bond was born on 19 May, 1934[3][4] in Kasauli, Punjab States Agency, British India. His father, Aubrey Alexander Bond,[5] who was British, was born in a military camp in Shahjahanpur, a small town in north India.[6] His mother, Edith Clarke,[5] was Anglo-Indian.

His father taught English to the princesses of Jamnagar palace, and Bond and his sister Ellen lived there till he was six. Later, his father joined the Royal Air Force in 1939 and Bond, along with his mother and sister, went to live at his mother's maternal home in Dehradun. Shortly after that, he was sent to a boarding school in Mussoorie.

When Bond was eight years old, his mother separated from his father and married a Punjabi Hindu, Hari. His father arranged for Bond to be brought to New Delhi where he was posted. Bond was very close to his father and describes this period (1942–1944) with his father as one of the happiest times of his life. When he was ten, however, his father died of malaria while posted in Calcutta[7] and was buried in the Bhowanipore War Cemetery in Calcutta.[6] At the time, Bond was at his boarding school in Shimla and when informed about this tragedy by his teacher, he was thoroughly heartbroken. Later, he was raised in Dehradun.

He attended Bishop Cotton School in Shimla, graduating in 1951. There he won several writing competitions, including the Irwin Divinity Prize and the Hailey Literature Prize. He wrote one of his first short stories, "Untouchable", at the age of sixteen in 1951.

Following high school, he went to his aunt's home in the Channel Islands in 1951 for better prospects and stayed there for two years. In London when he was seventeen years old, he started writing his first novel, The Room on the Roof, the semi-autobiographical story of the orphaned Anglo-Indian boy named Rusty. It won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, (1957) awarded to a British Commonwealth writer under 30. While searching for a publisher, he worked in a photo studio in London. After getting his novel published, he used the advance money to pay sea passage to return to India and settled in Dehradun.[8]

He worked for a few years freelancing from Delhi and Dehradun,[9] sustaining himself financially by writing short stories and poems for newspapers and magazines. About his youth, he said, "Sometimes I got lucky and some [of my works] got selected and I earned a few hundred rupees. Since I was in my 20s and didn't have any responsibilities I was just happy to be doing what I loved doing best."[8]

In 1963, Bond went to live in Mussoorie, a town in the Himalayan foothills in present day Uttarakhand, because—besides his liking of the place—it was close to the editors and publishers in Delhi. He edited a magazine for four years. In the 1980s, Penguin set up in India and approached him to write some books. Penguin India published two of his novels: The Room on the Roof and Vagrants in the Valley, which Bond had written in 1956 as a sequel. These two novels were published in one volume in 1993. The following year, Penguin India published a collection of his non-fiction writings, The Best of Bond Bond. Bond's interest in supernatural fiction led him to write popular titles such as Ghost Stories from the Raj, A Season of Ghosts, and A Face in the Dark and Other Hauntings.

Since then, he has written over five hundred short stories, essays and novels, including The Blue Umbrella, Funny Side Up, A Flight of Pigeons (on which the Hindi film Junoon is based), and more than 50 books for children. He also published his autobiography in what might be called two installments: Scenes from a Writer's Life, describing his formative years growing up in Anglo-India, and a further autobiography, Lone Fox Dancing. The Lamp is Lit is a collection of essays and episodes from his journal.

Ruskin Bond with his sister, Ellen. This photograph dates back to 1938.

Since 1963, Bond has lived as a freelance writer in Mussoorie, staying with his adoptive family in Landour, Mussoorie's Ivy Cottage, which has been his home since 1980.[10][11] Asked what he likes most about his life, he said, "That I have been able to write for so long. I started at the age of 17 or 18 and I am still writing. If I were not a professional writer who was getting published I would still write."[12]

His sister Ellen lived in Ludhiana with their stepsister until she died in 2014. He also has a brother, William, who lives in Canada.

Literary career[edit | edit source]

Most of Bond's works are influenced by life in the hill stations in the foothills of the Himalayas, where he spent his childhood. The Room on the Roof, was written when he was 17 and published when he was 22. It was partly based on the experiences of him and his friends in his small rented room on the roof in Dehradun. His earlier works were written without being meant for any particular readership.[12][13] The writing of his first children's book, Angry River, published in 1972, was toned down on a publisher's request for a children's story.[12] About writing for children, Bond said, "I had a pretty lonely childhood and it helps me to understand a child better."[14]

His work reflects his Anglo-Indian experiences and the changing political, social and cultural aspects of India, having been through colonial, postcolonial and post-independence phases of India.[3]

Bond said that while his autobiographical work, Rain in the Mountains valley, was about his years spent in Mussoorie. Scenes from a Writer's Life described his first 21 years. Scenes from a Writer's Life focuses on Bond's trip to England, his struggle to find a publisher for his first book The Room on the Roof and his yearning to come back to India, particularly to Doon. "It also tells a lot about my parents", said Bond. "The book ends with the publication of my first novel and my decision to make writing my livelihood", he explained, adding: "Basically, it describes how I became a writer".[15][citation needed]

Being a writer for over 50 years, Bond experimented with different genres. His early works include fiction, short stories, and novellas with some being autobiographical; and later he tried out non-fiction, romance[8] and books for children. He said that his favourite writing genres are essays and short stories.[12]

He considers himself a "visual writer" because for short stories, he first imagines them like a film and then notes them down. For an essay or travelogue, however, he finds such planning not needed because he feels the unexpected makes them more exciting.[12]

As for his own reading, Bond named Just William by Richmal Crompton, Billy Bunter by Charles Hamilton and classics such as Alice in Wonderland and works by Charles Dickens and Mark Twain.[12]

Adaptations[edit | edit source]

The 1978 Bollywood film Junoon is based on Bond's novel A Flight of Pigeons, about an episode during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. It was produced by & features Shashi Kapoor and directed by Shyam Benegal.

The Rusty stories have been adapted into a Doordarshan TV series Ek Tha Rusty. Several stories have been incorporated into the Indian school curriculum, including The Night Train at Deoli, Time Stops at Shamli and Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra.

In 2005, the Bollywood director Vishal Bhardwaj made a film based on Bond's popular novel for children, The Blue Umbrella. The movie went on to win the National Film Award for Best Children's Film.

Bond made his maiden big-screen appearance with Vishal Bhardwaj's film 7 Khoon Maaf in 2011, based on his short story Susanna's Seven Husbands. In the movie, Bond appears as a bishop with Priyanka Chopra playing the title role.[16]

Parchhayee: Ghost Stories by Ruskin Bond, an Indian web series released on Zee5, is based on the ghost stories written by Bond.

A short film titled Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan, featuring Vikrant Massey, was later released, which was adapted from Bond’s short story The Eyes Have It.

The Rusty character[edit | edit source]

Rusty is a popular fictional character created by Bond: a 16-year-old orphaned Anglo-Indian boy living in Dehradun with no real family. Rusty's character offers a teenager's perspective on battling with confusions about life, relationship, happiness and love. He starts living with his guardian John Harrison, who is stern and harsh. Rusty is obliged to follow his guardian's rules and orders and doesn't dare disobey which makes him feel helpless because he knows that if he does, he will get caned. He has no real friends and finds himself very lonely in his guardian's house[17] in the European part of Dehradun. He wants to embrace Indian culture and lifestyle,[18] and so he makes friends with some Indian boys in the local marketplace, hiding this from Harrison, continuing to go on secret adventures with them. Soon he decides to run away from the captivity of Harrison and go to England.

The character of Rusty was based on Bond himself as a teenager. His first book, The Room on the Roof, which he wrote at the age of 17, was a semi-autobiographical story with Rusty being the protagonist.[19] It was based on his friends and the time he spent in a rented room in Dehradun.[20] Most of Rusty's initial years are set in Dehradun, a scenic locale in northern India. Bond was deeply attached to Dehra and most of his stories are inspired by the hills and valleys of this region.

Novels and short stories featuring Rusty include:

  • The Room on the Roof
  • Vagrants in the Valley (a sequel to The Room on the Roof)
  • Rusty, the Boy from the Hills (collection of short stories)
  • Rusty Runs Away (collection of short stories)
  • Rusty and the Magic Mountain
  • Rusty Goes to London
  • Rusty Comes Home
  • The Adventures of Rusty (collection of short stories)
  • Delhi Is Not Far
  • Rusty Plays Holi
  • Rusty and the Leopard

Bibliography[edit | edit source]

Novels[edit | edit source]

  • The Room on the Roof
  • Vagrants in the Valley
  • Rusty Runs Away
  • A Flight of Pigeons
  • The Sensualist
  • The Panther's Moon
  • Once Upon a Monsoon Time
  • Delhi Is Not Far
  • Angry River
  • The Woman on Platform 8
  • Strangers in the Night
  • All Roads Lead to Ganga
  • Tales of Fosterganj
  • Maharani
  • Leopard on the Mountain
  • Grandfather's Private Zoo
  • In Grandfather's Garden
  • The Blue Umbrella
  • Too Much Trouble
  • When the Tiger Was King
  • Cherry Tree
  • The Great Train Journey
  • Children of India
  • Owls in the Family
  • Dust on the Mountain
  • The Adventures of Toto
  • He said it with Arsenic
  • A Season of Ghosts
  • The Song of the Forest

Memories[edit | edit source]

  • Landour Days: A Writer's Journal
  • Scenes from a Writer's Life
  • With Love from the Hills
  • Roads to Mussoorie
  • Looking for the Rainbow
  • Till the Clouds Roll By
  • Coming Round the Mountain
  • A Song of India
  • All the Roads Lead to Ganga
  • Lone fox dancing

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "Can't Run Out Of Stories In India": Ruskin Bond Celebrates 88th Birthday". NDTV.
  2. ↑ "Padma Awarded" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Khorana, Meena G. (2003). The life and works of Ruskin Bond. Praegar, Greenwood. p. 1–10. ISBN 9780313311857.
  4. ↑ Pant, Neha (19 May 2015). "At 81, Ruskin Bond's tryst with his tireless pen continues". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "The name is Bond, Ruskin Bond". Hindustan Times. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Ruskin's Daddy bond". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  7. ↑ "A BOND THAT ENDURES". democraticworld.in. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Mishra, Prachi Raturi (19 May 2014). "The name is Bond, Ruskin Bond". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Sinha, Arpita (18 May 2010). "The name is Bond, Ruskin Bond". Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  10. ↑ Bond, Ruskin (24 November 2012). "Walk the Talk with Ruskin Bond" (Interview). Interviewed by Shekhar Gupta. Delhi: NDTV. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  11. ↑ Dhir, L. Aruna (2 April 2018). "The interview that Ruskin Bond called his finest". DailyO.in. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 Kumar, Ramendra (10 December 2010). "A Landour day with Ruskin Bond". Business Line. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 8 January 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  13. ↑ Zachariah, Preeti (2 December 2019). "How Ruskin Bond keeps the magic of boyhood alive". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 13 January 2020. Though 'Children's Author' is a tag that he is usually associated with, Bond began writing for children only in his forties. "I was always good at writing about children. But I wrote those stories without a reader in mind",
  14. ↑ "My writings reflect my lonely childhood: Ruskin Bond – Firstpost". Firstpost. 9 April 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  15. ↑ Bond, Ruskin (29 August 2017). Scenes from a Writer's Life. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-81-8475-450-6.
  16. ↑ "Ruskin Bond to do a cameo in 'Saat Khoon..'". The Times of India. IANS. 24 January 2011. Archived from the original on 28 January 2011.
  17. ↑ Adya@Youngbookreporters (21 March 2016). "Room on the Roof by Ruskin Bond – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  18. ↑ "The Room on the Roof by Ruskin Bond". The Hindu. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  19. ↑ Singh, Tanaya (3 January 2016). "Ruskin Bond Brings Back Rusty. After More than a Decade". The Better India. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  20. ↑ "5 popular books by Ruskin Bond you shouldn't miss : Art and Culture". India Today. 18 May 2016. Archived from the original on 30 May 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2017.

External links[edit | edit source]

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