KOCHI: Teenager Devadattan Ajayan is living his dream of being an author after his authorial debut ‘Otta Maram Natta Penkutti’ was published recently. The book is a collection of 11 short stories inspired from his life and addresses contemporary issues.
An outgoing child who loves to read and write, Devadattan has always wanted to inspire others through his stories. All the stories in his book are a reflection of his daily life. The Class IX student at St Mary’s School in Pattom launched his book recently. Written in Malayalam, the book is a collection of short stories with illustrations by cartoonist Ibrahim Badusha.
His ability to express his thoughts on paper and love for words was the reason he began writing. Reflecting on how he began writing, he said, “When I was in Class VI, my grandmother encouraged me to write short stories. I began writing and later I thought of compiling the small collection of short stories.”
The book has been divided into different sections with powerful illustrations making the stories much more meaningful. The title of one short story ‘ Otta Maram Natta Penkutti’ also conveys a strong message. It talks about a girl who gets a sapling from her school but doesn’t own a place to plant it. As her family lives in a makeshift tent, she is unable to plant it outside her house. At last, she plants it on her father’s burial site in the public crematorium. This symbolises both environmental conservation and the situation of marginalised sections of society.