Joseph Rudyard Kipling was a renowned British poet, journalist, short-story writer and novelist. He was born in Bombay on 30 December 1865. Many of his works were inspired by India. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1907. His father, John Lockwood Kipling, headed the Jeejeebhoy School of Art. At the age of six, Rudyard's parents brought him to England and he stayed at a foster house for five years. Later, he was sent to a boarding school in north Devon. He came back to India in 1882 and worked as a journalist for seven years.

During those years, Kipling closely observed the people and customs of India and these observations were reflected in his works. He is best known for his children's novels such as The Jungle Book (1894) and Kim (1901). Some of his poems are 'Gunga Din' (1890) and 'If' (1910). He married an American woman Caroline Balestier in1892 and settled in USA. But they moved back to England in 1896. Kipling passed away at the age of 70 on 18 January 1936.