Ruskin Bond is an award winning Indian author of British descent, much renowned for his role in promoting children’s literature in India. A prolific writer, he has written over 500 short stories, essays and novels. His popular novel ‘The Blue Umbrella’ was made into a Hindi film of the same name which was awarded the National Film Award for Best Children's Film, in 2007. He is also the author of more than 50 books for children and two volumes of autobiography. Born as the son of a British couple when India was under colonial rule, he spent his early childhood in Jamnagar and Shimla. His childhood was marred by his parents’ separation and his father’s death. He sought solace in reading and writing, and wrote one of his first short stories at the age of 16. He then moved to the U.K. in search of better prospects, but returned to India after some years. He earned his living by freelancing as a young man, writing short stories and poems for newspapers and magazines. A few years hence he was approached by Penguin Books who published several collections of his work, helping establish him as a popular author in India. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 and Padma Bhushan in 2014.