“And when the rains were over and it was October and the birds were in song again, I could lie in the sun on sweet-smelling grass and gaze up through a pattern of oak leaves into a blind-blue heaven. And I would thank my God for leaves and grass and the smell of things, the smell of mint and myrtle and bruised clover, and the touch of things, the touch of grass and air and sky, the touch of the sky's blueness.”

Indian author and poet

Ruskin Bond is an Indian author and poet, best known for fiction that has reached readers across generations. His first novel, The Room on the Roof, was published in 1956 and won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. He has written more than 500 short stories, essays, and novels, including 69 books for children. His work was recognized with the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992 for Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra, the Padma Shri in 1999, and the Padma Bhushan in 2014.