High blood pressure and dwindling eyesight aside, celebrated author Ruskin Bond, who turns 90 on Sunday, shows little signs of ageing as the famed raconteur, with his child-like enthusiasm intact, talks about life, old age, writing, food -- and everything in between at his quaint white Ivy Cottage in Uttarakhand's cantonment town of Landour. His inimitable wit, often self-deprecating, makes light of everything, including his celebrity status of being widely recognised as India's favourite children's author. "After all, ninety nine percent of writers are forgotten in the long run. I am happy if my family remembers me and a few readers (who still) get some pleasure out of it," says Ruskin Bond. Having written his debut novel, "The Room on the Roof", in 1956, Bond has authored over 500 short stories, essays and novellas, along with more than 50 books for children. This was when Bond didn't aspire to become a writer, at least initially. His first two ambitions, and those he failed miserably at, were to become an actor or a tap dancer.
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