Mussoorie, April 21 -- Mussoorie resident-author Bill Aitken breathed his last in Dehradun late last night. A few days earlier, the author had a fall at his home while overseeing repair work and was rushed to Dehradun where he was kept under the best medical care but showed little improvement.

I was fortunate to meet Bill at his home in Oakless on his birthday last year when he turned 90. Full of warmth and good Scottish humour, William McKay Aitken or Bill Aitken as we had known him since childhood was thrilled to see ma and me. He was in the best of health and spirits, if you take away the usual twinges in the hinges.

I remember him telling me, 'I have never been better.' At ninety, Bill used to stick to a health routine which took hi...