Few writers have captured the quiet rhythms of Indian life as evocatively as Ruskin Bond. Over a exceptional profession spanning greater than seven a long time, Bond has chronicled the great thing about the extraordinary—mountain walks, monsoon rains, childhood mischief—with a heat that has endeared him to generations of readers.
A recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Padma Shri (1999), and the Padma Bhushan (2014), Bond’s literary legacy consists of beloved titles like The Room on the Roof, The Blue Umbrella, Rusty, Boy from the Hills, and A Flight of Pigeons.
His work has not solely lived on bookshelves but additionally discovered new life on display, with variations resembling Saat Khoon Maaf and The Blue Umbrella, introducing his tales to wider audiences.
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“The physique, like an previous automobile, begins giving bother. However I’m grateful. After I was younger, dwelling to 60 was thought of an achievement. So 91 appears like a bonus spherical,” Bond instructed indianexpress.com in an unique, candid dialog. He additionally shared glimpses into his every day life at 91, musings on fashionable life, enduring love for books, and extra. Edited excerpts are beneath:
Q. What does a typical day in your life appear to be? What small joys are you unapologetically ‘grasping’ about?
“Nature is my every day pleasure—timber, birds, flowers,” says Bond. (Specific Photograph)
Ruskin Bond: In my youthful days, I walked in every single place—climbing via hills and exploring cities. That’s how tales got here to me, how life stayed fascinating. Now, issues are quieter.
I start my day early—round seven or eight—and write a few pages. If the climate is variety, I sit within the solar; in any other case, I discover some shade. Nature is my every day pleasure—timber, birds, flowers.
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I get together with small animals, not the big ones. I’ve a fairly three-legged Persian cat and a gang of monkeys who aren’t pets, however prefer to steal my lunch.
Books are nonetheless a continuing—I learn each day, although I have to convey them near my nostril now. I take 4 newspapers every morning and get fairly grumpy in the event that they’re late.
And sure, I like sweets—ice cream, laddus, jalebis, and burfi. The medical doctors ask to chop again on sugar, however I sneak within the occasional deal with. Life can be reasonably boring with out these little indulgences.
Q. At this stage in life, how do you outline “health”? What retains you feeling effectively in physique, thoughts, and spirit?
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Ruskin Bond: I’ve by no means thought a lot about health, to be sincere. After we’re younger, we take it as a right. I used to stroll and cycle in every single place, and that most likely saved me wholesome. I by no means did yoga or adopted any strict routine.
I’ve all the time been extra of a lazy fellow—I stand up to jot down, to not do workout routines. Now, in my 90s, I can’t stroll far, however I nonetheless take pleasure in a brief stroll. The physique, like an previous automobile, begins giving bother. However I’m grateful. After I was younger, dwelling to 60 was thought of an achievement. So 91 appears like a bonus spherical.
Q. Having witnessed a lot change over the a long time, is there one thing from the previous you want right this moment’s era would rethink?
Ruskin Bond: After I was a boy, I beloved strolling and biking. However now, it doesn’t really feel secure anymore. I used to stroll all around the metropolis once I lived in Delhi, even from Connaught Place to the Purple Fort.
The site visitors now makes strolling tough, each right here in Mussoorie and in Delhi. It’s simply the blare of automobile horns. You get used to it will definitely, however I’d a lot reasonably hear birds, however sadly, the site visitors and helicopters have scared them away.
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You be taught to stay with it. In any other case, I’d have to maneuver to the following mountain and hope they don’t comply with me there.
Life modifications, however fortunately, some issues stay: books to learn and buddies to speak to. And every now and then, when one of many younger folks in the home takes me for a drive outdoors Mussoorie, I can go for a brief stroll, hear a number of birds, and revel in a little bit of peace.
However proper subsequent to the home, it’s laborious. City life is slowly consuming the countryside, and evidently’s simply the best way it’s.
Q. Expertise has modified how we inform tales, from podcasts to audiobooks. Do you are feeling one thing important has been misplaced, or is it merely an evolution?
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Ruskin Bond: It’s an evolution, I suppose. So long as folks nonetheless care about tales, I’m completely satisfied. Whether or not it’s a printed ebook or somebody narrating it on a podcast, the gist of the story stays. It’s how we share our humanity.
Q. Journey adventures are sometimes centred in your tales. Of all of the locations you’ve lived or travelled to, is there one which holds a particular place in your coronary heart?
Ruskin Bond made a particular look within the 2011 Bollywood movie Saat Khoon Maaf, which was primarily based on his brief story Susanna’s Seven Husbands. (Screenshot)
Ruskin Bond: Aside from Mussoorie, which is dwelling, I’ve fond recollections of Jamnagar, the place I lived as a boy, by the ocean. Pondicherry was beautiful too, throughout the filming of Saat Khoon Maaf. And I as soon as frolicked in Gopalpur-on-Sea in Odisha—stormy, sure, however lovely and quiet. I like seaside locations—they distinction with the mountains. India affords such selection: hills, seashores, deserts. You might spend your complete life right here and by no means run out of recent experiences.
Q. Your new ebook, The best way to Be You, appears like a quiet manifesto on dwelling authentically. Was self-assurance all the time part of your nature?
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Ruskin Bond: (Laughs) Effectively, I’m nonetheless attempting to be me. That’s the sincere reply. I hope the ebook helps a number of younger folks. I believe self-assurance comes over time—with expertise, with solitude, and with acceptance. You cease attempting to impress and begin having fun with being who you’re.
Q. Is there a hidden expertise or passion your readers is perhaps shocked to find out about?
Ruskin Bond: I’m undecided I’ve any hidden skills. Writing has all the time been each my career and my ardour. Past that, I do have a quirky little knack for tongue twisters—a ability I’ve picked up through the years. I can breeze via a number of the trickiest ones, like “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers” or “She sells sea shells by the seashore,” with out skipping a beat. Not too dangerous for somebody in his 90s, I’d say. I suppose it’s the author in me, nonetheless delighting within the rhythm and mischief of phrases.
Q. Lastly, you’ve reached a exceptional milestone of 91 years. What’s one precious life lesson you’ve learnt?
Ruskin Bond: Life is a valuable present—benefit from it. Do one thing significant along with your time, and provides one thing of your self to others. Use it meaningfully: create, contribute, and depart one thing behind. Because the Latin proverb says, “Ars longa, vita brevis” — artwork is lengthy, life is brief.
