Bond Ruskin Bond

By Swati Dev

Most famous Indian author, Ruskin Bond is now 89. But he feels he is not old yet. He has written more than 500 short stories, essays, and novels which includes 69 books for children. But he does not have a mobile phone nor uses laptop. All his writings are by his favourite ball pen only. Among many  awards he was conferred with Padma Bhushan in 2014.

He maintains that he is an ordinary man. He reads three or four books a week and continues his writings. Moreover, a one-year short nonagenarian feels fit and fine and not at all hanging his boots. And what is the best way to celebrate his 89th birthday other than publishing a new book - “The Golden Years — The Many Joys of Living A Good Long Life”. The book is a collection of essays and reflections on aging, written by Bond in his late 80s.

In the book, Bond shares his thoughts on the joys and challenges of old age, as well as his advice on how to make the most of the golden years. Bond writes about the importance of staying active, both physically and mentally. He also emphasizes the importance of maintaining a positive attitude and a sense of humour. He writes about the importance of family and friends, and the joy of spending time with loved ones.

He also writes about the beauty of nature,  and  the  importance of connecting with the natural world. Basically, The Golden Years is about the joys of aging which will inspire readers to embrace the golden years and make the most of their lives. In an interview to the media on his birthday, Bond said  even  at 89 he does not feel old. No, 89 does not feel too old. There is the occasional twinge of pain here and there. Mentally, I am very similar to what I  was  at  29,  or 19 or 9! Which is why people say I never grew up! He is happy, works hard. The day you stop working, you stop living, he says.

Unlike most senior  people  Bond is also not a very spiritual person but a  philosophical  person.  At the same  time,  he  is  happy  and is close to nature. One should be part of the nature one is born with. Incidentally, Ruskin Bond was born in May 1934, in Kasauli, Punjab. His father was a teacher to the royal family kids at Jamnagar in Gujrat and later joined the Royal Air Force. Then he along with his mother  went to live at his maternal home at Dehradun and attended his schooling in Delhi, Mussoorie and Shimla. When he was ten, his father, already separated from his mother, died of malaria during the war, while he  was  posted in Calcutta. Ruskin Bond was closed to his father who named him so. Later, he was raised in Dehradun and then shifted to Mussoorie where he still lives with his adopted family.

In the initial years of his career, he worked for a few years freelancing from Delhi and Dehradun. He had a job in Delhi from which he resigned and shifted to Dehradun to concentrate on writing. He sustained himself financially by writing short stories and poems for newspapers and magazines.

He also edited a  magazine  for four years. In the 1980s, Penguin set up in India and approached him to write some books. His book, A Flight of Pigeons was the theme of the box office hit Hindi film Junoon, by Shyam Benegal, starring Shashi Kapoor, his wife Jennifer Kendal, and Nafisa Ali. Most of his works are influenced by life in the hill stations at the foothills of the Himalayas, where he spent his childhood.

Bond lives with his adoptive family in Landour, Mussoorie’s Ivy Cottage, which has been his home since 1980.  Bond’s journey continue.