Ruskin Bond, the legendary Indian author of over 300 short stories, essays and novels, and over 30 children’s books, turns 90 on May 19th this year. Here are some interesting and less-known facts about the sterling wordsmith’s life.
Ruskin Bond was born to Edith Clerke and Aubrey Bond. Bond saw his parents getting divorced when he was only four years old. His mother then married an Indian.
In 1944, his father succumbed to malaria while being posted in Kolkata when Ruskin was 10 years old. Ruskin later dedicated a memoir titled ‘Looking for the Rainbow: My Years with Daddy’ as a tribute to his father.
Bond wrote his first short story titled ‘Untouchable’ at the age of 16.
Bond wanted to be a tap dancer when he was young.
Bond’s first novel, The Room on the Roof, was published when he was just 21 years old.
Ruskin Bond was 30 years old when he decided to give up his job in Delhi and instead settle down in Dehradun to become a full-time writer. Most of his works are influenced by life in the hill stations at the foothills of the Himalayas.