From the ‘Trees of Dehradun’, Ruskin Bond celebrates his 91st birthday

Compiled by Thomas Tom

In celebrating Ruskin Bond's birthday, let’s revisit the works of the beloved Indian children's author

The Room on the Roof

Bond's first venture into writing narrates the story of his most well-known protagonist, Rusty, an orphaned Anglo-Indian boy, navigating the challenges of adolescence

The Blue Umbrella

Binya is given a beautiful blue umbrella by some tourists, irking the ire of local shopkeeper Ram Bharosa, who wants to keep it for himself

The Sensualist

One of Bond's more mature novels, it tells the story of an unnamed narrator, who represses his inner carnal desires and tries to seek deeper meaning

Panther's Moon

A collection of stories featuring wacky hijinks of angry monkeys and a lurking panther, it is one of Bond's collections of works where he takes the reader on a pleasant, funny, and sometimes dangerous journey through nature

Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra

Through nature, Bond takes us on a trip down memory lane, recounting his childhood experiences in Dehradun. It is a collection of stories of various people he encountered in life, his family members, friends and teachers

A Flight of Pigeons

Set during the 1857 Rebellion, it tells the story of Ruth Labadoor and her mother, captured by Javed Khan amid anti-British violence in Shahjahanpur

Delhi is Not Far

Arun, a writer, dreams of going to Delhi, and so do the people of Pipalnagar. Various characters help Arun understand his predicament, like the wise prostitute Kamla and the optimistic Suraj, who is plagued with epilepsy