“The sunlight, penetrating the gaps in the tall trees, plays chess on the gravestones, shifting slowly and thoughtfully across the worn old stones. The wind, like a hundred violins, plays perpetually in the topmost branches of the deodars.”

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.