Ruskin Bond was born in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh , on 19th May, 1934, and grew up

in Shimla, Jamnagar, Dehradun and Mussoorie. As a young man, he spent four years in

the Channel Island and London. He now lives in Landour, Mussoorie, with his adopted

family. Ruskin Bond

In the course of a writing career spanning thirty five years, he has written over a hundred

short stories, essays, novels and more than thirty books for children. Three collections of

short stories, The Night Train at Deoli, Time Stops at Shamli and Our Trees Still Grow in

Dehra have been published by Penguin India. He has also edited two anthologies, The

Penguin Book of Indian Ghost Stories and The Penguin Book of Indian Railway Stories.

Bonds writing is greatly influenced by the hills, and the valley of Dehra Dun, where he

spent his childhood.

He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992 for Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra and

the Padma Shri in 1999 for children?s literature.

Do not be Afraid of the Dark. :

Don’t be afraid of the dark, little one,

The earth must rest when the day is done.

The sun must be harsh, but moonlight – never!

And those stars will be shining forever and ever,

Be friends with the Night, there is nothing to fear,

Just let your thoughts travel to friends far and near.

By day, it does seem that our troubles won’t cease,

But at night, late at night, the world is at peace.

Dandelion

I think it's an insult

To nature's generosity

That many call this cheerful flower

A 'common weed'

How dare they so degrade

A flower divinely made!

Sublimely does it bloom and seed

IN sunshine or in shade,

Thriving in wind and in rain,

On stony soil

On walls or steps

On strips of waste;

TOugh nd resilient,

Giving delight

when other flowers are out of sight.

And when its puff ball comes to fruit

You make a wish and blow it clean away:

'Please make my wish come true',you say.

And if you're kind and pure of heart,

Who knows? THe magic flower may just respond

And help you on your way

Good dandelion,

be mine today.

Emily Dickinson is considered one of the most original 19th Century American poets.

She is noted for her unconventional broken rhyming meter and use of dashes and random

capitalisation as well as her creative use of metaphor and overall innovative style. She

was a deeply sensitive woman who questioned the puritanical background of her

Calvinist family and soulfully explored her own spirituality, often in poignant, deeply

personal poetry. She admired the works of John Keats and Elizabeth Barrett Browning,

but avoided the florid and romantic style of her time, creating poems of pure and concise

imagery, at times witty and sardonic, often boldly frank and illuminating the keen insight

she had into the human condition. At times characterised as a semi-invalid, a hermit, a

heartbroken introvert, or a neurotic agoraphobic, her poetry is sometimes brooding and

sometimes joyous and celebratory. Her sophistication and profound intellect has been

lauded by laymen and scholars alike and influenced many other authors and poets into the

21st Century.

AN AWFUL TEMPEST MASHED THE AIR by: Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

N awful tempest mashed the air,

The clouds were gaunt and few;

A black, as of a spectre's cloak,

Hid heaven and earth from view.

The creatures chuckled on the roofs

And whistled in the air,

And shook their fists and gnashed their teeth,

And swung their frenzied hair.

The morning lit, the birds arose;

The monster's faded eyes

Turned slowly to his native coast,

And peace was Paradise!

AS IF SOME LITTLE ARCTIC FLOWER by: Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

S if some little arctic flower,

Upon the polar hem,

Went wandering down the latitudes,

Until it puzzled came

To continents of summer,

To firmaments of sun,

To strange, bright crowds of flowers,

And birds of foreign tongue!

I say, as if this little flower

To Eden wandered in--

What then? Why, nothing, only

Your inference therefrom!