On the occasion of Ruskin Bond's 87th birthday, the team at learning and entertainment platform unluclass came together and in his honour, released a short audiovisual story called “Rusty's Birthday Adventure”.

Rusty is one of Ruskin Bond's most beloved characters, inspired from his own childhood and has been a part of every person's growing up years.

The story revolves around a book that he receives for his birthday from his grandmother and the adventures that follow when the characters in the book come to life. It involves multiple famous fiction novel characters and their attempt to make his birthday special. The story is available to all on YouTube and other social media platforms.

unluclass is a celebrity-powered learning and entertainment platform that has been launched by UNLU, the famous celebrity engagement platform, IBNS said. 

They have partnered with one of the most loved authors in the country, Ruskin Bond to offer insights and techniques on storytelling and creative writing.

Vipul Agrawal, co-founder, UNLU, said: "All of us have grown reading Ruskin Bond books and now we have him on board to help young minds and aspiring writers understand the nuances of his beautiful style of writing and storytelling. We are thrilled to have him as a part of our team and felt a book in his honour would be the best present we could get him. We hope he enjoyed it as much as we did by writing and illustrating it."

Commenting on his birthday surprise, Ruskin Bond said: “Thank you so much for this birthday surprise. I loved the story about Rusty and Toto. The way they have built a narrative using a window as a gateway to adventure and connected it with my love for windows, brings me real joy. I think the team unluclass did a great job and Kudos to their team. I am sure a lot of kids will enjoy and learn good things from this storybook.

Teaching on camera was a very different experience: BondTeaching on camera was a very different experience: Bond

"For me, teaching on camera was a very different experience and I was a little skeptical about it, but the response that I have received from the people who enrolled for the class makes me believe that it was a tremendous success and worth all the effort! It feels great to be able to touch all these lives with just one online course. I hope that it makes a difference in their life and encourages them to pursue their passion."

Ruskin Bond celebrated his birthday with family members in Mussoorie and received loving messages from readers, friends, family, well-wishers and publishers from and all over the country. Many of his students from unluclass also got together and created videos to celebrate his birthday. He extended his gratitude by posting a video on his social media handles.