But in a recent interview with Humans Of Bombay he opened up about being broke as a writer and working four jobs to keep his writing afloat. 

The next 4 years taught me how difficult it was to sustain as a writer. After college, I’d juggle 4 part-time jobs. Exhausted, I’d still write at night. But my work was rejected by every publishing house.

He also added that he faced resistance from his mother about him choosing to be a writer. 

I was 16 when my story was published in a magazine! Thrilled, I told Mum, ‘I want to be a writer.’ But she shipped me off to England for college.

Ruskin Bond spoke about the loss of his father and the problems he had with his mother’s second marriage – using books as his coping mechanism. 

After Mum & Dad got divorced, we got a letter–Dad had died of a bullet; I was shattered. When Mum remarried, I couldn’t accept another man in Dad’s place. So, I created my own little world–I’d curl up with a book & forget about everything else. 

And why he is still single.

I wrote a lot about falling in love with girls at train stations. But in reality, none of those girls reciprocated. So in the 1960s, I adopted my househelp’s kids. And at 87, I’m still a bachelor!

You can read the full post here:

We’re glad he didn’t give up on writing.