Never too old to dream, says India's much loved storyteller Ruskin Bond on 91st birthday

AUTHOR, raconteur and simply one of India's most loved storytellers Ruskin Bond turns 91 on Monday, quietly rebelling against the lyrics of the song that still enchants him - "When I Grow Too Old To Dream".

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"...it's a pretty song, an old Nelson Eddy favourite, but the words are wrong. We are never too old to dream," the indefatigable Bond writes in his latest book "Life's Magic Moments" that launched on his birthday.

His birthday is always an occasion. And the book's official launch, planned at Mussoorie's Cambridge Book Depot, close to his home in Landour, was set to be one too. However, it was called off by the author as a mark of respect for the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.

His latest book at just 120 beautifully illustrated pages is a treasure trove of life lessons, musings, and memorable quotes.

It's a ramble through Bond's life from his favorite flowers and unputdownable books to his obsession with pickles and his sunroom at the famed Ivy Cottage, his residence in Landour. He speaks eloquently of the loneliness of a writer and, most importantly, his dreams.

"... These are some of the things I dream of: apple, peach and plum trees in bloom..finishing the book I'm writing, and I dream of seeing the books I wrote last year appear in the coming months... Seeing my family prosper... All the books I am going to read -- the new ones and the old favourites.

"I dream of old friends, and I dream of new friends. I dream of a world where flowers still bloom and birds still sing. I dream of things that didn't happen. Perhaps they will one day," Bond writes.

Born on May 19, 1934, in Kasauli, Bond grew up in Jamnagar, Shimla, New Delhi, and Dehradun. He made Landour his permanent home in 1963.