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After 70, Every Year Feels Like a Victory: Ruskin Bond Reflects in New Book
New Delhi: As he nears his 91st birthday in May, renowned Indian author Ruskin Bond describes each passing year as a triumph. Reflecting on life and aging, Bond shares personal insights and philosophical musings in his newly released book, Another Day in Landour: Looking Out from My Window.
Published by HarperCollins India, the book was officially launched on Saturday and offers readers a candid glimpse into Bond’s everyday life in Landour, his enduring love for nature, and his reflections on growing older. Priced at ₹399, the book is a heartfelt collection of daily thoughts penned from his residence, Ivy Cottage, nestled in the Himalayan foothills.
“Every time I complete a year of my life, I feel as though it’s been a victory. This has been the case ever since I got into the seventies,” Bond writes. “Before that, I didn’t pay as much attention to the passing of the years; they were something to which I felt entitled. But after seventy, you are not entitled to anything.”
Born on May 19, 1934, in Kasauli, Bond spent his early years across cities like Jamnagar, Shimla, New Delhi, and Dehradun. With the exception of a brief stint in the UK, he has spent his entire life in India. Since the publication of his first novel, The Room on the Roof (1956), Bond has authored over 500 works, including novels, short stories, essays, and poems, cementing his legacy as one of India’s most cherished literary voices.
In Another Day in Landour, Bond balances gentle humour with contemplative wisdom, touching on themes ranging from overpopulation and war to global leadership, all expressed in his signature lighthearted tone. He humorously recounts naming a pair of noisy laughing thrushes after world leaders Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden — a whimsical commentary on contemporary geopolitics.
The book also offers intimate glimpses into Bond’s physical challenges, including poor eyesight and gout, and how these have affected his writing. Yet, his reflections are marked by warmth and resilience. He observes that women tend to handle aging more effectively, citing the independence of his grandmother after the loss of his grandfather.
“It’s the single men, or widowers, who are often quite helpless when the knees begin to give way and the eyesight dims,” he writes. “We weren’t really built to live too long. But life is precious, wonderful at times, and we cling to it like limpets.”
In the closing pages, Bond offers sage advice to readers: embrace the present. “After 80, every day is a bonus,” he notes. “Read a little, write a little. Listen to music. Take a short walk. And if walking is difficult, go for a drive. If you can’t do that, open the window and look at the birds, the trees, the cats, the dogs, the mules, the monkeys … look at the people, no two of them the same.”
Another Day in Landour stands as both a celebration of a life well-lived and a gentle meditation on the beauty of everyday moments.
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