About famous writer and author

1. O Henry   (1862-1910), or William Sydney Porter, is best known for his short

stories which are famous for their wit, wordplay, realistic characterisation

and twist-endings. Some of his famous short stories are The Ransom

of Red Chief, The Cop and the Anthem, The Duplicity of Hargraves and

The Gift of the Magi.

This story is about two friends, Bob and Jimmy, who had promised to meet

twenty years later at a particular time and place. The twist at the end of the

tale reveals how each friend lived up to the promise.

2.  

Ruskin Bond  (1934- ) is an Indian writer of British origin. He has spent most

of his life in Dehradun and loves writing about the forests, hill stations and

people of this region. Many of his stories are autobiographical. The Indian

Council for Child Education has recognised his role in the growth of children's

literature in India. He was honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992

for Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra.

This text is about a cherry tree and the little boy who plants it.

3. Gieve Patel    (1940- ) is a Mumbai-based poet, playwright and painter, besides being a practising

physician. His works include Poems, first launched by Nissim Ezekiel, followed by How Do You

Withstand and Mirrored Mirroring. He also edited a collection of poetry which was published

in 2006.

This poem talks about the amount of effort required to kill a tree which takes a great deal of

time and natural resources to grow. The vivid description and the ironic tone underline

the sadness of the situation.

4. 

Satyajit Ray (1921-1992) was an Indian filmmaker, artist and writer. He wrote

several short stories and novels for children and young adults. He created

the famous characters of the scientist, Professor Shonku, and the private

detective, Feluda.

In this text, which is the first of the Feluda stories, Ray subtly shows us

how Feluda cleverly solves this mystery.

  

5. 

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle

 (1859-1930) is best known for his fictional

detective stories revolving around the private investigator, Sherlock Holmes,

whom he introduced in his novel, A Study in Scarlet, in 1890. These stories are

considered milestones in the field of crime fiction.

In this text, we see how the speaker subtly builds up

the

suspense

with little details and incidents and also how remarkably Holmes' deductions

are explained.

6.