Ruskin Bond
The decades following Indian independence saw English-language writing carve out a meaningful space on the subcontinent, with writers working to find their own voice within a literary tradition that straddled two worlds. Ruskin Bond, born on 19 May 1934 in Kasauli, came of age during precisely that period of cultural and national transition.
Bond was educated at Bishop Cotton School and has worked as a writer throughout his life, producing his work in the English language. His collection Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra stands as one of his notable works, and it was for that collection that he received the Sahitya Akademi Award in English in 1992. He also received the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, an honor that brought his writing to the attention of readers beyond India. Bond holds citizenship of India, and his biography carries the additional distinction of having been born when the country was still under the British Raj.
The range of recognition Bond has received reflects a career that has drawn attention from multiple directions. The Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992 marked a significant early milestone in that formal acknowledgment, tied directly to the work collected in Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra. His writing in English, rooted in the landscapes and experiences of the subcontinent, found an audience that extended across different readerships.
The Indian government recognized Bond's contributions on two separate occasions in the years that followed. He received the Padma Shri in literature and education in 1999, and then, fifteen years later, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2014. That 2014 honor represents the most recent formal recognition listed among his awards, anchoring a long career that has drawn sustained acknowledgment at the national level.
Quotes by Ruskin Bond
Ruskin Bond's insights on:
A lot of school-going children are familiar with my writing. I am basically very much a children books author.
No, I don't want to be a brand. Brand means I cannot go out for a quiet walk without tourists and fans constantly following me.
I won't usually just sit down to write. I'd have done it in my head already. I visualise a story just like a film strip running in my head. I guess that is also a reason why my books have such a visual element to them. And it's what I tell young writers: plan your story ahead.
I've never written specifically for children as such. I write to please myself, and if it is suitable, it gets printed as a children's book.
I think I'm from the 18th century, not even the 19th. I don't even use a typewriter. I prefer longhand, and that's how I submit my manuscripts to my publishers.
My desk is right next to my bed. So I sit on my bed. I write in a big notebook which is on the desk. And if I feel drowsy, I just have to slide into bed.
I used to type, but now, typing or working with a computer, I get a stiff neck. So I prefer writing longhand.
If I'm really immersed in a story, I try to finish it in a few days. If it's a longer work, then it would take a few months.