Ruskin Bond

Indian author Ruskin Bond was born on May 19, 1934. His first novel, The Room on the Roof, was released in 1956 and won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1957. Over 500 short stories, articles, and novels, including 69 for children, have been written by Bond. His 1992 book Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra won the Sahitya Akademi Award. In 1999, he received the Padma Shri, and in 2014, he received the Padma Bhushan. He resides in Landour, Mussoorie, in the Indian state of Uttarakhand with his adopted family.

Career and Life:

On May 19, 1934, Ruskin Bond was born in Kasauli, Punjab States Agency, British India. In the little Indian village of Shahjahanpur, a military barracks was where his father, Aubrey Alexander Bond, was born. Later, after studying for his first six years at the same little school for their princes and princesses in the Jamnagar castle, he was hired as a tutor. Ruskin Bond and his sister Ellen resided there till Ruskin was six years old while he taught English to the princesses of Jamnagar Palace.

After his father joined the Royal Air Force in 1939, Ruskin moved in with his mother and sister to his paternal house in Dehradun. His transfer to a boarding school in Mussoorie came shortly after that. Ruskin's mother, Edith Clerke, divorced his father when he was eight years old, and they later wed Hari, a Punjabi Hindu. Ruskin was brought to New Delhi, where his father had set up his posting, by his father.

He was very close to his father and considers the years between 1942 and 1944 spent with him to be some of his happiest. His father, who was stationed in Calcutta, passed away from malaria when he was ten years old. The Bhowanipore War Cemetery in Calcutta is where he was laid to rest.

When this tragedy occurred, Ruskin's teacher notified him when he was at his boarding school in Shimla. His heart was crushed to pieces. He later grew up in Dehradun.

Bishop Cotton School in Shimla, where he completed his education, is where he received his diploma in 1951. The Irwin Divinity Prize and the Hailey Literature Prize are just two of the writing contests he won at the school. At the age of sixteen, in 1951, he produced one of his earliest short pieces, "Untouchable."

He moved to his aunt's house in the Channel Islands in 1951 after finishing high school in search of better opportunities, and he spent two years there. When he was 17 years old and living in London, he began writing his first book, The Room on the Roof, which is loosely based on his own life and tells the semi-autobiographical tale of an orphaned Anglo-Indian child named Rusty. It was awarded the 1957 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, given to a British Commonwealth writer under the age of thirty. While looking for a publisher, he relocated to London and started working in a photo studio. Bond utilised the advance to pay for the boat journey to Bombay and relocate to Dehradun after getting the book published.

He worked as a freelancer from Delhi and Dehradun for a while. He made a living by penning poems and short stories for publications like newspapers. With regard to his youth, he remarked, "Sometimes I got lucky, and some [work] got selected, and I made a few hundred rupees. Since I was in my 20s and had no obligations, I was just glad to be doing what I loved doing the most. He moved to Mussoorie in 1963 not only because he liked the location but also because it was close to the editors and publishers in Delhi. He spent four years editing a magazine. The 1980s saw Penguin establish a presence in India and contact him about writing a few novels. As a follow-up to The Room on the Roof, he had written Vagrants in the Valley in 1956. In 1993, Penguin India combined these two works into a single book.

His non-fiction writings were collected and released as The Best of Ruskin Bond by Penguin India the following year. A Season of Ghosts, Ghost Stories from the Raj, and A Face in the Dark and Other Hauntings are just a few of the well-known works he produced as a result of his passion for writing strange fiction. Since then, he has produced more than 500 short stories, essays, novels, and more than 50 books for kids. Some of his best-known works are The Blue Umbrella, Funny Side Up, A Flight of Pigeons, and The Blue Umbrella (which served as the basis for the Hindi film Junoon). His autobiography, Scenes from a Writer's Life, which details his formative years growing up in Anglo-India, as well as his most recent book, Lone Fox Dancing, which was released in 2017, have both been published. His journal entries and articles are collected in The Lamp is Lit.

He has worked as a freelance writer in Mussoorie, a town in Uttarakhand's Himalayan foothills, since 1963. He currently resides in Landour, Mussoorie's Ivy Cottage, which he has called home since 1980, with his adoptive family. When asked what aspect of his life he enjoyed the most, he responded, "That I have been able to write for so long. I began writing when I was 17 or 18 years old, and I still do. Even if I weren't a published author with a career, I would still write. He explains his Indian identity in his essay "Scenes from a Writer's Life" by saying, "Race did not make me one.

Writing Life:

The majority of his works draw inspiration from his upbringing in the Himalayan foothills' small towns. Written when he was 16 and published when he was 21 is The Room on the Roof. It was partially based on his memories of his time in Dehradun, where he lived in a small, roof-top room that he rented, and with his friends. He didn't write his earlier works with a specific readership in mind. His first children's book, Angry River, which was published in 1972, had its writing altered in order to conform to a publisher's requirement for a kid-friendly tale. He added, with reference to writing for children, "I had a pretty lonely childhood and it helps me to understand a child better."

Bond's work reflects his Anglo-Indian experiences as well as the evolving political, social, and cultural features of India after it underwent colonial, postcolonial, and post-independence periods.

Scenes from a Writer's Life, according to Ruskin Bond, details his first 21 years while Rain in the Mountains, his autobiographical book, is about his time spent in Mussoorie. In Scenes from a Writer's Life, Bond's voyage to England, his search for a publisher for his first book, The Room on the Roof, and his desire to return to India, particularly to Doon, are the main topics. Furthermore, it reveals a great deal about my parents, stated Bond. "The book ends with the release of my first novel and my choice to make writing my job," Bond stated, adding, "basically, it explains how I became a writer.

Since he has been writing for more than 50 years, Bond has experimented with a variety of genres; his early works include fiction, short stories, and novellas, some of which are autobiographical. Later, he experimented with non-fiction, romance, and kid's books. He listed essays and short tales as his two favorite literary forms. He refers to himself as a "visual writer" because, when writing short stories, he first envisions them as movies before taking notes. Such planning is not required for him when writing an article or travelogue. He thinks the element of the unexpected there makes it more thrilling.

Rusty:

Popular fictional character Rusty was created by Ruskin Bond. Teenage Anglo-Indian resident Rusty resides in Dehradun. He lacks an actual family and is an orphan. He begins sharing a residence with his guardian, Mr. John Harrison, who has a strict and unforgiving demeanour. Rusty cannot resist obeying his guardian's commands and laws since he is obligated to do so.

He is aware that if he disobeys Mr. John, he would be caned, which makes him feel helpless. In his guardian's home, he feels incredibly lonely because he has no true pals. Despite residing in Dehradun's European section, he wishes to adopt an Indian way of life. In the nearby marketplace, he befriends a few Indian youngsters.

He keeps it a secret from Mr. John while still having covert outings with them. He quickly makes the decision to escape Mr. John's imprisonment and return to England. Rusty's character presents the viewpoint of an adolescent who is struggling with his doubts about life, love, relationships, and happiness.

Character Inspiration:

Ruskin Bond developed Rusty to pen tales about his own background. Rusty is the main character in his debut book, The Room on the Roof, which he wrote when he was just 17 years old. It was based on the time he spent in a rented room in Dehradun with his buddies. The majority of Rusty's early years take place in the picturesque northern Indian city of Dehradun. The hills and valleys of this area served as inspiration for many of Ruskin Bond's novels because he had a strong attachment to Dehra.

Conclusion:

To sum up, Ruskin Bond's life and literary accomplishments are evidence of the enduring appeal of storytelling and the profound influence of nature on artistic expression. Readers all over the world have been moved by his enthralling stories, which are frequently set against the backdrop of the Indian Himalayas. The simplicity of life and universal themes are perfectly captured by Bond, who has cemented his status as a popular literary character. He is a leading figure in Indian literature with awards including the Padma Shri and the Sahitya Akademi Award. Generations have been inspired by the words of Ruskin Bond, who left behind timeless tales and a steadfast love of nature.