Critically acclaimed novelist & story writer Ruskin Bond on Sunday turned 90-years-old. Ruskin Bond in his writing career penned numerous stories and even won multiple awards. In fact, his written short stories were even made into the books of the ICSE and CBSE syllabus. Bond has authored more than 500 short stories, essays, and novels which includes 69 books for children. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992 for Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra. However, there is one fact that his readers often query about i.e. Why did Ruskin Bond never get married or who was Ruskin Bond girlfriend? Below is all about Ruskin Bond love life-
Why did Ruskin Bond never get married?
Ruskin while speaking to a newswire said, "When I was in London, I did have a very close relationship with a Vietnamese girl. It didn't come to anything. Time passed by and I never really felt that I could, in those days at least, have a family life. I was very much a lone ranger on my own until my present family became part of my life. Now, I am a family man without getting married."
Ruskin also shared that once he was likened to a 'foreigner'. "They charge extra from foreigners for entering Konark (Sun Temple in Odisha). I said, 'I am not a foreigner, I am an Indian'. But then to avoid an argument I paid extra. Behind me came a sardar ji. He had a British passport but they let him in. He wasn't charged extra because he didn't look like a foreigner," added Ruskin Bond.
Born in 1934 to British parents in Himachal Pradesh's Kasauli, Ruskin Bond has always identified himself as an Indian and has lived in India for several years. Despite his strong connection to India and his identification as an Indian, Bond has faced instances where people perceive him as a foreigner living in the country.
As a result, most of his works are influenced by life in the hill stations at the foothills of the Himalayas, where he spent his childhood. The Room on the Roof was written when he was 16 and published when he was 21.
Ruskin Bond's storytelling also impressed Bollywood filmmakers over the years. For instance, the 1978 Bollywood film Junoon is based on Bond's novel A Flight of Pigeons (about an episode during the Indian Rebellion of 1857). It was produced by Shashi Kapoor and directed by Shyam Benegal.
In 2005, the Bollywood director Vishal Bhardwaj made a film based on his popular novel for children, The Blue Umbrella. The movie won the National Film Award for Best Children's Film. Thereafter, Ruskin Bond made his maiden big-screen appearance in Vishal Bhardwaj's film 7 Khoon Maaf in 2011, based on his short story Susanna's Seven Husbands.