Ruskin Bond turns 90: strawberry shakes, drives and four newspapers a day

India’s beloved storyteller Ruskin Bond, at 90, reflects on writing, life, and his enduring legacy with humor and wisdom.

Old writers never die, they simply go out of print, says India’s storyteller through the decades Ruskin Bond as he turned 90 on Sunday, adding with his famed self-deprecating wit that 99% of his tribe are forgotten in the long run.

The companionship of his adopted family, drives on the serpentine Landour-Mussoorie route, frothy strawberry milk shakes, shelves filled with books to read and a handy notepad to write down his daily musings… they were and are just a few of his favourite things.

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Spending most of his days at his picturesque home Ivy Cottage in the quiet cantonment town of Landour, a short drive from the noisier Mussoorie, the twin towns’ most famous resident shows little signs of ageing. High blood pressure and dwindling eyesight aside, his childlike enthusiasm is intact as he discusses life, old age, writing, food and everything in between.

"99% of writers are forgotten in the long run. We are writing for posterity but nobody remembers us afterwards... I am happy if my family remembers me and a few readers get some pleasure out of my writing but it is very easy for a writer to disappear, to go out of print,” Bond told PTI in a rare interview at his home, often breaking into laughter at his own answers.

The ace raconteur makes light of his celebrity status and of being India’s favourite children’s author with more than 500 titles, including short stories, essays and novellas, since his debut novel "The Room on the Roof" in 1956.

"They say 'old soldiers never die, they simply fade away'. Even old writers never die, they simply go out of print," Bond laughed.