This Article is From May 21, 2014

Penguin India Celebrates the 80th Birth Anniversary of Author Ruskin Bond

Penguin India Celebrates the 80th Birth Anniversary of Author Ruskin Bond

Model-actor Vipul Gupta, who was seen in Sudhir Mishra's Yeh Saali Zindagi, plays the character of Rusty.

New Delhi: Prolific author Ruskin Bond, whose books are well loved by children and adults alike recently marked his 80th birthday and celebrations still continue with several promotional events.

Publisher Penguin India is marking a week-long promotion all across their digital properties. "We started on May 18 with #WishRuskin where we are collecting 80 special wishes for Ruskin's 80th on Facebook and Twitter.

This will be followed by #AskRuskin - where we will collect 10 best questions that will be answered by Ruskin via the Penguin India Twitter handle," the publishers said.

The celebrations span the entire spectrum of Ruskin Reads with #FunnyRuskin, #SpookyRusking, #RuskinonNature and #RuskinonReading...entailing rare facts around the author and his books, quotes and much more.

 A special feature on #CelebratingRusty - Ruskin's most-loved character has also been planned. Since "The Room on the Roof" his award-winning debut novel which introduced readers to the unforgettable Rusty, the orphan from Dehradun- Bond has created characters both charming and eccentric, which have endured in popular imagination.

A new selection of Bond's fiction and non-fiction, has hit book-stands. Published by Rupa, the "Writer on the Hill" brings together both popular and little-known stories. It includes "Masterji" a young man meets his old Hindi teacher on a train-platform in handcuffs.

'Man and Leopard describes in mesmerizing prose a heart breaking encounter between man and the wild. And in 'Once upon a Mountain Time' Bond creates a charming portrait of his little patch of earth in Mussoorie.

Bond brings to life pulsing life the mountains, valleys and rivers of Garhwal, as well as the quiet magic of small, tucked-away places, in book after book.

"The 'Writer on the Hill' is also a celebration of the quiet, unhurried life, lived at one's own pace," says the publisher.

Previously on May 19 in Mussourie, the author had released two new books "Jungle Omnibus" (Rupa) and "Love among the Bookshelves" (Penguin).

The former is a collection of thrilling tales from the jungle of man-eating panthers, stealthy leopards, majestic tigers and strange birds. The second book offers a glimpse of Bond's life through the books he has loved and an introduction to some forgotten classics.

With over 500 books to his credit, Bond has been awarded a Sahitya Akademi award and had been conferred with a Padma Shri in 1999 and a Padma Bhushan earlier this year.
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