Happy 85th birthday, Ruskin Bond: India’s most loved author on books, birthdays and writer’s block

So what is he doing on his birthday? Does he still celebrate with a cake? “I am not fond of cakes. In fact, I like snacks and savouries more. Samosas, gol gappe, tikkis are my favourite,” he shares.

The eminent author also reveals that his new release, ‘Coming Round the Mountain’ by Puffin Books is all set to be launched at Cambridge bookstores, Mussourie, today. “Set against the backdrop of 1947 Indian Independence and the Partition, when I was 12-13 year old, this memoir reflects on how life and school dramatically changed as a consequence,” he says.

On the heels of ‘Looking for the Rainbow’ and ‘Till the Clouds Roll By’, the third memoir is yet another look at the past, in particular one memorable year, 1947, during which a lot happened to him and those around him. “The making of friends; the loss of friends; the country’s freedom and its division; changes everywhere. But there was one constant — my love of books, and an inclination for putting things down on paper — and it was this that gave me the confidence and self-belief to take on the uncertainties of living in a changing world. ‘Be true to yourself,’ my father always told me, ‘and if you are true to yourself, you will be true to others,” he fills in.

“I always tell young writers to write about their own people, surroundings, school and town to sound more convincing and clear. Rather than writing about foreign lands with foreign names, the people they know nothing about, it is important to set stories in clear and convincing backgrounds for evocative works,” he adds.

The writer’s new book is launching today. (Source: Puffin Books)

And what about declining readership? “The charm of the printed paper can never go out. Publishers are bringing books for children which is incredible. That wasn’t the case until a few decades back, apart from National Book Trust which would do that,” he states.

A lover of picture books

Bond is fond of picture books too. “What use is a book without pictures? Children need a lot of pictures. High quality illustrations should complement the text, and that is quintessential,” he points out.

“What is the use of a book without pictures?”, he says on his book ‘Koki’s Song’ which has been turned into an illustrative book for children. (Source: HarperCollins Publishers India)

His recent lyrical book, ‘Koki’s Song’ from HarperCollins, which has been illustrated by textile designer Ayeshe Sadr and graphic designer Ishaan Dasgupta, features 12-year-old Koki. Interestingly, Koki is not just an imaginary character but a 12-year-old girl he met as a young man on a ship on his way back to India from London. Koki shared her chocolates with him, having heard that he did not have money for chocolates. He did not see Koki again, but she turns up in his stories from time to time. She doesn’t grow old. She is twelve-year-old forever.

“Occasionally, I visualise chidren I have known over the years in different stories of mine and Koki is definitely one of them,” he mentions.

So does that mean that he never has a writer’s block? He breaks into a laugh and tells us, “That’s true! In the past, I used to say, you have to fall in love with your characters and be hooked to reading to overcome the block. Perhaps now, (I say), put it aside and come back to it later. Then, there is always the waste paper basket that is helpful.”

Note: 

Born in Himachal Pradesh’s Kasauli in 1934, the eminent writer grew up in Jamnagar (Gujarat), Dehradun, Delhi and Shimla. Following his high school education, he went to his aunt’s home in United Kingdom’s Channel Islands in 1951 and stayed there for two years until he moved to London. The Padma Shri recipient wrote his first short story when he had just left school. Two years later, his first novel, ‘The Room on the Roof’, was accepted by a London publisher.