Meet our community’s youngest author, seven-year-old Aahana Chakraborty.
The Year 2 student has just published her first picture book Buzzz… The Adventures of Lily and Lotus.
“I have been wanting to write a book since I was five years old,” Aahana told Indian Link.
A Year 2 student of Darcy Road Public School in Wentworthville, Sydney, little Aahana is a prolific reader.
And now she is a published writer and illustrator.
Her story is based on the exploits of two good friends Lily the fairy and Lotus the dragon fly who love to hang out with each other despite their obvious physical differences. The antagonist comes in the form of Evilies, who attacks a beehive in their neighbourhood. Using magical powers and drawing upon their reserves of courage and determination, the two save the lives of the vulnerable honeybees.
This is a quintessential good over evil story told from the perspective of a young child.
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Aahana not only has a way with words, she is also a clever illustrator. To engage her readers better, she created beautiful colour pictures to tell her simple tale.
Why honeybees, we asked Aahana.
“I wanted kids to know about bees, because they are important to us,” she replied with wisdom way beyond her years.
Aahana’s generation of kids are more aware of environmental concerns than we give them credit for.
The book also highlights the manner in which simple gestures like kindness and gratitude can go a long way in winning over friends.
Like many her age, Roald Dahl is Aahana’s favourite author and Captain Underpants, and Dogman are among her favourite book series. She is also quite fascinated by the Hindu mythological characters like Shiva and Vishnu and regularly draws inspiration from them for her writings.
“Aahana has always been a very sensitive child, blessed with a worldview that belies her tender age,” doting mother Garima Chakraborty, an IT consultant, told Indian Link.
Dad Kaushik Chakraborty, also an IT consultant, originally from Kolkata, described the process in the making of the book. “Self-publishing is a daunting task. However, with the help of sites like Amazon and Blurb, it can be done.”
He added, “I had promised Aahana that the day she came up with a good story, I’ll help her publish it.”
And true to his word, the day his daughter wrote and sketched the marvellous story of Lily and Lotus, Mr Chakraborty swung into action. Two and half months later, Aahana, all of seven years old, is a successful author of a published book.
My own ten-year-old son Ray loved the book. “Five stars,” he declared.
As the buzz picks up about her book, Aahana is already working on ideas for a second book.
Bzzz… The Adventures of Lily and Lotus is available online in softcover and PDF versions.
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