Quotes from Ruskin Bond

Solitude helps you reflect.

You may not enjoy loneliness, because loneliness is sad. But solitude is something else; solitude is what you look forward to when you want to be alone, when you want to be with yourself. So, solitude is something we all need from time to time.

There will always be books as long as I am mentally capable of it.

In my twenties, I wrote a lot of romantic stories in which I always lost the girl.

I think I'm from the 18th century, not even the 19th. I don't even use a typewriter. I prefer longhand, and that's how I submit my manuscripts to my publishers.

I used to type, but now, typing or working with a computer, I get a stiff neck. So I prefer writing longhand.

I get inspiration from a lot of things around me - nature, hills, people, and even insects.

Children haven't changed - the world around them has. Their basic natures haven't changed. They like ice creams. They like to have fun, play games if they get space.

Jokes apart, I, like many other, am looking for strong and stable government. I don't want any chaotic political situation where the elected government is being toppled frequently.

I like flowers. In my next life, maybe I can be a gardener.

I had a bad habit of falling in love with any girl who was nice to me.

A few years after my father's death, my mother sent me to the United Kingdom for 'better prospects' in 1951. Those four years were not easy.

I've noticed people in India have developed a habit of hugging around people. I don't understand it now. I wanted to be hugged when I was young. Now, if someone wants to hug me, I feel only claustrophobic.

Unhappy and unsettled childhood helps in writing.

The older you get, the lesser you are bothered by what others think.

Ghosts are all around us. Look for them, and you will find them.

I use a ball pen because fountain pens are clumsy, and I get ink all over my fingers by the time I finish with it.

As a schoolboy, I loved Charles Dickens. His 'David Copperfield' has had the strongest influence on me - I looked up to David Copperfield as a role model.

I suppose in the long run, it's the good work that outlasts the shoddy work, but there's enough room for all kinds of writing.

One has to be ambitious to start writing.

I have been apolitical all my life.

It's amazing to dwell in the world of fantasy and fear.

In India, not enough importance is given to writing for children. And what could be more important than the enrichment of young minds with great literature?

It is okay to experiment with language. Writers such as James Joyce, Virginia Woolf experimented with writing, but basically, one must have a familiarity with the language. And to have that, one must respect it.