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Ruskin Bond, English author born in India

Ruskin bond an Indian author of British descent born before Independence (1934) in Kasauli (Himachal Pradesh, state of India), is best author for me.

The short story collection of Ruskin Bond “The best of Ruskin Bond” has all his popular collection of short stories, essays and poems.

The writing style of Ruskin creates a complete view of pre-independence India, when British ruled the country and the way Indians and English people were staying in India. Most of the stories hover around his childhood experiences, some heartbreaking and some funny.

He has written some his memories, the time spent with his father, who actually inspired him to write and his mother who left him after his parents separated when he was a kid. The people around him who worked at his house when he was a kid have influenced him a lot such as the “Ayah” the “Mali” (Gardener) and his stepfather.

In later part of the book, he has shared some of his memories when he was in England, his friend who died although he kept on believing him not as his good friend, but after his death, he eventually believes.

People know him as a writer who has been writing for children’s, but many of his work is for mature people as well.

The best story of his is “The eyes have it”, a very short story but really a good one. It depicts a blind person sitting in a train compartment happens to meet a girl and tries show her that he is not blind. He keeps on thinking about her on the trip and when she leaves for her station, he later get surprised to know from a fellow passenger that “she too was blind”.