If you are asked to name a person, who turned his early childhood tragedies, teenage loneliness and innocuous encounters with relationship, happiness and love into beautiful and soulful stories, well, that’d be none other but Ruskin Bond. Ruskin Bond is undoubtedly one of the most loved Children’s Author. The “Sahitya Academy Award” winner ( in 1992 for his book ‘Our trees still grow in Dehra’) went on to receive the “Padma Shri” award in 1999 and the “Padma Bhushan” award in 2014.

The Indian author of British descent has created few of the most popular character in fiction. His semi-autobiographical character “Rusty” appears in a number of his works. It is believed that Rusty voices the sub-conscious feelings of Ruskin Bond. His being an orphaned “Anglo-Indian” boy living under the care of a dominating guarding, yearning to break free of captivity and experience life on his own, perhaps Ruskin Bond was being more eloquent of his boyhood.
 

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Most of Ruskin Bond’s works are inspired by his life in Dehradun and Mussoorie. His semi-autobiographical first novel “The Room on the Roof” tells the story of the publication of his first book and his decision to make a livelihood as a writer. Although, Ruskin Bond wrote in different genres, he was closer to readers through his children’s books. He had once said in an interview that his lonely childhood connected him better with children’s psychology.

However, Ruskin Bond was widely recognized for his other works too. Many of his books and stories were adapted into movies. These include 1978 Hindi movie “Junoon” based on his book “A Flight of Pigeons”, Doordarshan Telly Series “Ek Tha Rusty” based on his fictional character “Rusty”, 2005 Hindi Movie “The Blue Umbrella” based on his story “The Blue Umbrella” and 2011 Hindi Movie “Saat Khoon Maaf” based on his short story “Susanna’s Seven Husbands”. In the latter, Ruskin Bond even appears as a cameo in the role of Bishop. Several of his stories such as “The Night Train at Deoli” and “Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra” were included in curriculums.

A writing career spanning more than 50 years, Ruskin Bond has become a living story himself. So much to tell, and so much to read, the story goes on… Happy Birthday “Rusty”