Celebrated author Ruskin Bond on Sunday turned 90 and recalled an incident where he had to pay extra to visit the renowned Konark Sun Temple in Odisha as people told him he was a “foreigner”. He said he was compelled to pay the amount to avoid an argument with the officials.
Born in 1934 to British parents in Himachal Pradesh’s Kasauli, Bond has always identified himself as an Indian and has lived in India for several years. Despite his strong connection to India and his identification as an Indian, Bond has faced instances where people perceive him as a foreigner living in the country.
“They charge extra from foreigners for entering Konark (Sun Temple in Odisha). I said, ‘I am not a foreigner, I am an Indian’. But then to avoid an argument I paid extra,” he told news agency PTI.
“Behind me came a sardar ji. He had a British passport but they let him in. He wasn’t charged extra because he didn’t look like a foreigner,” he chuckled.
Bond had earlier stated that he is an Indian not just by birth but also by choice, and that he has seen and accepted the changes that have happened in India before and after Independence.
He has written over 500 short stories, essays, and novels, including 69 books for children, and has been awarded several prestigious awards, including the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan.
Source Agencies
