HYDERABAD : There are several books on children literature but not many by the children. And it’s heartening to see a seven-year-old prodigy Abhijita Gupta become Grand Master in writing. The little girl, who’s from the third generation of the renowned poet duo - Rashtrakavi Maithilisharan Gupt and Santkavi Siyaramsharan Gupt, has been recognised as the world’s youngest author by the International Book of Records, while the Asia Book of Records has conferred on her title of the ‘Grandmaster in Writing.
’ The India Book of Records recognises her as the youngest author to have written poetry and prose. She was barely five years old when she asked for a pencil and paper. Shares her mother Anupriya Gupta who is an engineer turned entrepreneur, “She came and told me that she wanted to write a story and that was her first one. She titled it ‘Elephant’s Advice’. Other than one mistake her writing was clean.
We were shocked to see this in our child.” Her book ‘Happiness All Around’ is published by Invincible Publishers and is available both as a hard copy and a Kindle edition. It is a collection of short stories and poems with illustrations. The book offers interesting snippets of a child’s mind and observations based on her experiences.
During the lockdown, the young author asked her parents for a diary and pencil and began writing. What’s this new collection about? Shares her mother, “She told me and her father that she wanted to write about the effect of the pandemic on children and her views on how she dealt with it.” Her mother adds that writing comes naturally to her daughter.
“Abhijita chooses a moral lesson or theme first then weaves the story around it. We share only positive aspects of anything with her as we don’t want to spoil her innocence. Later, as she grows up she’ll naturally witness different aspects of life.” Sharing about her passion for writing, the young writer says: “The surroundings and even the little things inspire me. I write about positive things- what I hear, see or feel.” Her favourite poems are - ‘Mother Earth’, ‘Let’s try, let’s fly’, ‘Study is my best buddy’, and ‘Precious Friendship.’ At present, she’s reading books by Ruskin Bond and Sudha Murthy.
— Saima Afreen saima@newindianexpress @Sfreen