Ruskin to reveal his love life in memoir

Legendary children’s author Ruskin Bond is writing his autobiography in three volumes, one of which will reveal why he did not marry. “I will write three memoirs. First one will be on my writing life, second one on my personal life, which includes my love life,” Bond said. The third book, he said would be on his “invented life” — the life, which the writer would like to have. “I can tell a lot of tall stories. That book will probably be the most amusing,” the 81-year-old bachelor, who lives with his adopted family in Landour near Mussoorie, said.

Although many of his stories are semi-autobiographical in nature, his first attempt at writing a full-fledged memoir was in 2000 when Scenes from a Writer’s Life: A Memoir was published. 

But, it covers only first few formative years of the Anglo-Indian’s life till the age of 21 before his first book The Room on the Roof, which also has autobiographical elements, was published. 

“I am extending that book now to include some of the things I had left out. And some of the things I see in a different perspective now. It will be ready in the next 3-4 months,” said the author. 

Bond, known for works like The Blue Umbrella, Funny Side Up, Vagrants in the Valley, Delhi Is Not Far and A Flight of Pigeons, has been maintaining a diary all his life, which would become the source of his memoirs. He concurrently works on 2-3 books at the same time. Besides the autobiography, he is busy writing a mystery story, while another part of the famous Rusty series would come out next year. 

“I am also writing a book of fun, which will have funny recipes for cakes, what to eat, what kids like, funny astrological predictions, for example. It will also have some anecdotes about funny things that have happened to me and others,” the noted author said. Penguin has just brought out a special 60th anniversary edition of the bestseller The Room on the Roof.