Interviewing octogenarian author Ruskin Bond is similar to chatting with a well-travelled uncle who boasts of a bookshelf on every wall of his home; the kind who is never short of a story to regale all at the annual fam-jam session. Having met him in person and spoken over the telephone on several occasions, we were happy to reconnect (over the phone) with the veteran author from his quaint home in Landour, about the re-print of one of his most popular short stories, The Tunnel (Puffin). “I wrote this story in the 1970s but over the years, it has been reprinted and gone into collections — because it has been a popular story, liked by kids and adults alike. The story about a little boy, his discoveries in the forest, and the mysteries that unravel inside a railway tunnel, remains one of my favourites,” Bond shares, adding, “By the 1970s, it had been five-six years since I was living here after having escaped Delhi where I was in a job that I did not like. This story was written in that period when I left the city, and I began to experience the joys of wide open spaces.” While the story remains untouched, it was divided into short chapters for easier reading. This, the author feels, will help familiarise  young children with the habit of reading a book in chapters.