India's most loved children's author Ruskin Bond turned 84 on Saturday, May 19. But he still has the mischievous glint of little Rusty, his alter ego found in his books. Even though he is equally well-known for his nature books and has recently come out with his autobiography Lone Fox Dancing, Bond remains a child at heart; fond of chocolates and happily obliging requests for photographs.
A few days ahead of his birthday, TOI trekked to Ivy Cottage, his Landour home perched atop the Mussoorie hills. In a free-wheeling chat, punctuated with charm and humour, the raconteur regaled us with many a tale; including his connect with Lucknow and how he was once mistaken for a ghost at Carlton Hotel. "I used to frequent Lucknow in the 1960s and 70s and often stayed at Carlton Hotel. Once, perchance I was the sole occupant on a floor. Night had fallen when I stepped out of my room. Some men standing in the lawn missed a heartbeat as for a fleeting moment they mistook me for an apparition; one of them even managed to squeak with fear: bhoot!" he recalled with a laugh.
While visiting the city in those years, he would take long strolls in Hazratganj and meet Ram Advani, whom he got acquainted with in his school days. Advani was the school bursar in Shimla where Bond was studying. Over the years, the writer had become good friends with Advani, who owned a well-known bookshop in the city. Ruskin was saddened to hear about the closure of Ram Advani's iconic shop, shortly after the bibliophile passed away in 2016.
Ruskin Bond is happy living in his own world far from the madding crowd, literally. One passes through the hubbub of Landour Bazaar, the meandering bylanes and quaint cottages to reach Bond's residence of more than three decades. His cosy drawing room is stacked with books, which along with his Olympia typewriter and the landline phone, have been his long-standing companions.
The author has stayed away from modern intrusions like laptop and mobile and enjoys his siestas. "During my initial writing years, once the letter 'B' of my typewriter broke. Since the repair work was costly, I had to manually insert every 'b' in the entire manuscript. I realised, to my amazement, how many English words had that letter," he recalled.
Despite his growing years, Ruskin Bond meets his fans at the Cambridge Book Depot in Mussoorie every Saturday, a tradition he has followed for years. He signs books and poses for photographs with visitors, majority of whom are children. Sunil Arora, the depot owner, said people wait patiently in queue, which stretches for a kilometre, at times, just to get their prized moment with the writer.
Asked about his dabbling with the supernatural genre, Bond let out a secret. "Whenever I run out of ideas, I turn to writing ghost stories," he said with a wide grin. Bond is still a sought-after writer at literary fests across the country. "Though I get several invites, the one that I enjoy the most is Kolkata Lit Fest. It is truly a city of book lovers," he said.
With the beginning of another year of his life, one looks forward to more tales from the master of stories.