Mussoorie, May 20 -- The iconic Cambridge Book Depot on Mussoorie's Mall Road on Tuesday missed its most celebrated visitor for the second consecutive year as acclaimed author and Padma Bhushan awardee Ruskin Bond celebrated his 92nd birthday in Dehradun, away from his beloved Ivy Cottage in Landour Bazaar due to ongoing health and mobility constraints. The veteran writer was hospitalised at Max Super Speciality Hospital in Dehradun in December 2025 after experiencing severe leg discomfort and sudden difficulty in walking. He has stayed in the valley since his discharge to support his recovery. His adopted son Rakesh Bond confirmed that the condition is age-related and said the author has been steadily recovering. "My father has shown signs of a speedy recovery since being discharged from the hospital last year, but because he is still unable to climb the steep stairs of his Mussoorie home, the family decided to celebrate his 92nd birthday in Dehradun, where friends, well-wishers and fans gathered to wish him a long and healthy life," he said For nearly two and a half decades, the Cambridge Book Depot has maintained an annual tradition wherein waves of admirers to queue up outside it on May 19 to wish Bond in person, cut a birthday cake, and have him autograph their books. Sunil Arora, who owns Cambridge Book Depot, said Bond's absence was deeply felt. "Last year he missed it due to the Pahalgam issue and this year, health concerns after his medical setback forced him to skip the annual book-signing and cake-cutting ceremony. To keep the tradition alive, we invited a student who shares his birthday with Ruskin Bond to cut the cake," he said, adding that he would meet the author in Dehradun later in the day. Reaching out to readers from Dehradun, Bond expressed affection for his mountain home and said he hoped to return to Mussoorie once his condition improved. "Normally I spend every May 19 celebrating my birthday with my readers, and I am hoping to come up to the bookstore as my medical condition improves further," he said. He added that he misses meeting fans, sharing coffee and conversations, and urged well-wishers to feel his presence in spirit during the celebrations. Fan Anubhav Jindal (55) said Bond's work continues to define generations of readers. "I was hooked on Ruskin Bond's writing after reading The Room on the Roof, published in 1956. Even today, his nature-centric storytelling fills me with nostalgia." Earlier, during a pre-birthday and book launch event in Dehradun on May 15, Bond released his latest book- All-Time Favourite Friendship Stories before a large gathering of students and book lovers. Fans recalled light-hearted anecdotes about the author's childhood, including one wherein he dwelt upon his fondness for eating at least 20 tikkis. Bond has written over 500 short stories, in addition to his celebrated essays, poetry and novels, over a literary career spanning over seventy years. Celebrated works include A Flight of Pigeons(1978),Delhi is Not Far (1994), Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra (a book of short stories which won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992) and Vagrants in the Valley (a sequel to The Room on the Roof, published by Penguin in 2000). A Flight of Pigeons was adapted into Shyam Benegal's National Award-winning film Junoon (1978), while Vishal Bhardwaj adapted The Blue Umbrella in 2005, winning a National Film Award for Best Children's Film, and the macabre Susanna's Seven Husbands into 7 Khoon Maaf (2011)....