For the past few years now, come the third week of May, the throng of tourists that flocks to Landour in Dehradun swells a little more as people gather to catch sight of the region’s most famous resident.It is not an actor or a sportsperson they come to see, but a writer. Famously known as the writer on the hill. In a career that has spanned over seven decades, and resulted in more than 500 short stories, essays, and novels, which include 70 books for children, Ruskin Bond occupies a space on the Indian literary landscape that few can lay claim to. “His appeal is universal,” says independent bookseller Randhir Arora of Book World, Dehradun. “He has loyal readers between the ages of five and 95, a breadth I am yet to see in any other author.”
From Ruskin Bond’s birthday celebrations on May 19, 2026, in Landour, Uttarakhand.
I won’t lie. Since becoming a children’s book author myself a few years ago, I have watched the rather marvellous fuss made over Bond on his birthday — and otherwise — with just the teensiest glimmer of envy. What is it like to have entire shelves in book stores dedicated to just your books? To be an unassailable fixture at the top of the ‘kidlit’ bestseller list? To be so beloved by your readers, that they gather near your home to get a glimpse of you? So, when I find myself invited to the launch of the Ruskin Bond Festival in late May — barely a week after the author’s 92nd birthday on May 19 — I say yes. I want a ringside view of the celebrations I’d looked at from afar, and if I’m being honest, I harbour hopes that some of the author’s literary fairy dust might rub off on me. Back to simpler timesAn initiative of the Ruskin Bond Foundation, the event at Lekhak Gaon, a writers’ retreat in Dehradun, includes the screening of an original film from StoneX Global’s Mastery series featuring the author, a panel discussion on writing, and sees former IPS officer Kiran Bedi bring Bond’s family on stage for a Q&A session that is a mix of a talk show with gentle interrogation. Later, a marble bust in his likeness is unveiled in the gardens. Despite the author’s absence from the proceedings due to his frail health, a considerable crowd has turned up to celebrate him and his writing. When we speak, Arora mentions the delight young readers exhibit when they meet Bond at events. It presents itself in equal measure amongst the grown-ups who have gathered at the festival.
