Still a bookworm at 90: Ruskin Bond

I wanted to be an actor, that never happened. I wanted to be a tap dancer, never had the figure for it

Old writers never die, they simply go out of print, India’s favourite children’s author, Ruskin Bond quips. The celebrity writer  turns 90 on Sunday. Bond now resides at Ivy Cottage in the quiet cantonment town of Landour, a short drive from the Mussoorie, spending most of his time reading either books or newspapers. 

“Ninety-nine per cent of writers are forgotten in the long run. We are writing for posterity but nobody remembers us afterwards... I am happy if my family remembers me and a few readers get some pleasure out of my writing but it is very easy for a writer to disappear, to go out of print” Bond told the media. 

Bond has written more than 500 titles, including short stories, essays and novellas, since his debut novel “The Room on the Roof” in 1956. His latest “Hold on To Your Dreams”, published by Penguin Random House India, offers a glimpse into Bond’s personal space and everyday life—memories of his boyhood, his friends, lost love, moments of joy, anguish, triumphs and tragedies.

“I wanted to be an actor, that never happened. I wanted to be a tap dancer, never had the figure for it. Then I realised I could write. I was a great bookworm. I grew up on books. Then I thought this is the best thing to do. Nothing better than a book, then why not write a few. Join the brigade of authors, so I did.” At 90, Bond continues to be a voracious reader with his nose either in the books or newspapers.  He considers himself a newspaper addict and reads four in a day.

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