‘I wish my stories were as good as omelettes’: Ruskin Bond’s new book is a letter to young readers

My dear young friends,

It’s no use asking me for advice. I seldom took any, and when I did, it was usually the wrong kind. Besides, young people usually resent being given advice by patronising elders and go out of their way to do the very opposite of what they have been advised to do.

You will learn from your mistakes. Or maybe you won’t. I keep making the same mistakes. I don’t learn from them. I see other people making mistakes and learning very little from them.

The human being was born to make mistakes. It was probably a mistake on the part of the Creator or on the part of evolution, whichever is your preference. The great philosophers, scientists and men of religion have all tried to justify our presence on this planet. And to what end? Conflict. Human conflict caused by the same territorial greed that is found in animals.

In many ways, the human is a superior sort of animal but only to a small degree. I look at my cat, Mimi, basking in the sun. She is elegant and beautiful to behold – superior to a dog, definitely. She does not fawn over humans because she sees through them. She knows my weaknesses and that,...

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