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What role does reading play in our
lives?
Surely, reading
has a great impact upon us. Not only do we derive pleasure out
of reading healthy fiction but we also become better persons.
For all those who wish to explore themselves and the world
around, stories of eminent authors can be very useful. Reading
broadens our perspectives.
In our country
few people develop a taste for reading fiction. What should be
done to popularise it?
(Contemplates).
Schools can play a greater role by providing a good collection
of books in their libraries. Teachers and parents in particular
need to encourage children to read quality fiction and develop
their vocabulary. Newspapers and magazines too need to publish
short stories. I am very sorry to notice that barring one or two
almost all national dailies have ceased to give a platform to
writers of fiction.
Which are your
favourite writers?
I have enjoyed
reading so many writers that it’s be hard to recall them all.
To name a few. Somerset, Maugham, Charles Dickens, Oliver
Goldsmith, P.G. Wodehouse, R.K. Narayan, George Orwell, Guy de
Maupassant, Maxim Gorky, Chekhov...
How did you
develop your effortless get charming style of writing?
The style in
which I write came quite naturally to me. Over the years, it has
remained the same, except that it has gained more clarity.
How do you like
being labelled as children’s writer?
My writings are
lucid and devoid of obscurity which makes it easier for the
children to follow them. In fact, my stories appeal to all age
groups. I do not mind this epithet On the contrary, I even like
it.
Why do you
constantly look into your past for materials for your stories,
does the present fail to interest you?
It’s not as
if the present fails to amuse me or does not provide me
interesting characters or incidents. But sometimes it’s good
to wait... I keep a journal in which I record whatever takes my
fancy.
Do you
appreciate the modern fiction being churned out these days?
Not really. I
don’t enjoy reading such a stuff as I find it rather insipid.
To me there’s hardly any joy in reading a story which lacks
passions or amusing events. Many of the present age writers veil
their inability to regale the readers abstract ideas and tough
vocabulary.
If not a
writer... what would you have liked to be?
I’d have loved to be a
sportsman.
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RUSKIN
Bond needs no introduction. A widely-read author , his stories
have warmed hearts over generations. Both,parents and their
children have derived pleasure from his charming tales. His
first novel — The room on the roof was written when he
was just 17. The novel later went on to bag the John Ilewellyn
Rhys Memorial Prize in 1957. He received the Sahitya Akademi
Award in 1992 and the Padmashree in 1999. But his real
achievement lies in the fact that more than the reader’s
reverence, he has captured their love.
