New Delhi: Eminent English author Ruskin Bond was awarded the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Fellowship at his Mussoorie home on Saturday.
Bond was named a recipient of Akademi's highest honour in September 2021. However, due to his ill health, he could not be given the honour in person.
"Sahitya Akademi president Madhav Kaushik and secretary K Sreenivasarao handed the plaque to Bond at his home on Saturday," the Akademi said in a statement.
Born on 19 May 1934 in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, Bond has been actively writing for more than 50 years and has written in various genres of literature, including short stories, children's books, novels, autobiographical works and non-fiction.
His notable works include 'Vagrants in the Valley', 'Once Upon a Monsoon Time', 'Angry River', 'Strangers in the Night', 'All Roads Lead to Ganga', 'Tales of Fosterganj', 'Leopard on the Mountain' and 'Too Much Trouble'. The 1978 Hindi film 'Junoon' is based on Bond's historical novel 'A Flight of Pigeons' (Indian Rebellion of 1857).
Adaptations of his stories were aired on Doordarshan as the TV serial 'Ek Tha Rusty' and several of his stories - 'The Night Train at Deoli', 'Time Stops at Shamli' and 'Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra' - were included in the school curriculum in India, the Akademi noted.
Bond, who has written over 300 short stories, essays and novels and more than 30 books for children besides several other works, is the recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992, Sahitya Akademi’s Bal Sahitya Puraskar in 2012, Padma Shri in 1999 and Padma Bhushan in 2019 among other prestigious awards.
Published 11 May 2024, 18:12 IST