Rusty, an inspiration to many for eight decades

Ruskin Bond lost his father at a very early age; his mother and stepfather never wished for him to be a writer — but the fire in him to tell stories and create didn’t die. The author, who turns 84 today, has over the years impacted generations of readers and continues to do so. 

“On this fine day, I’d like to wish Ruskin Bond a happy birthday and a life filled with peace and health,” says filmmaker Bhargav Saikia, who directed the short The Black Cat , based on Bond’s story. 

“I’ve always been interested in the horror and fantasy genres; after my first short went on to become a success, I wanted to direct one based on the story of an Indian author. I remembered reading The Black Cat when I was in Class 6 and thought what better than this?” he narrates. The setting of the story and its eccentric characters — like who else can write about friendly ghosts — appealed to Bhargav. That along with his love for Tim Burton’s movies drove him to choose this story. 

“I met Ruskin Bond in July 2016 and the meeting, which was supposed to last 30 minutes extended to three hours!” he smiles adding, “He loved my previous works so he instantly approved of me filming The Black Cat.” 

Tom Alter, the author’s close friend played the lead, so that probably won Bhargav some brownie points. Films alike, Bond has been an inspiration, a way of life even, for authors like Vibha Batra. She has to get her hands on anything that says Ruskin Bond — “I’ve practically read all of his books! I write for children as well so he’s been a great inspiration. The way Rusty (as he’s fondly known) writes about his family, the birds and even the bees is so subtle yet vivid.” 

She’s a fan of the occasional columns he writes for newspapers and goes on to say his humour is infectious. “I think am spoilt by his writing, because I find it difficult to write books without humour — must be the Bond, Ruskin Bond, effect.” 

Children who adored his books, are now parents themselves, Harshida Harikumar and Debapriya Roy say Bond’s books will live on. Formerly an English teacher in Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan, T. Nagar, Harshida says, “I remember teaching my students about The Hidden Pool for non-detailed. They found it so interesting as to how an expat could impart so much knowledge about cultural India through his books.” 

She has broken down the likes of Shakespeare and Homer to kids but none of them were able to relate to it like they did with Bond, she feels. “My son too loves him so we’ve gotten him all the possible books.”

Debapriya’s daughter is just a couple of months old, but mom already has plans of introducing her to Ruskin Bond. She says, “Though being classic tales of a different era, his stories are resoundingly fresh with dollops of innocence, which is hard to find in today’s world. His writing style is hugely imaginative as strikes a chord across all ages, especially with children. We want our child to become explorers in all true sense so I’m sure Ruskin Bond’s stories have that immense power to make her inquisitive about each and everything.”