Everyone said that to study in a government school would put her at a disadvantage. They also told her that getting an English manuscript published was next to impossible. But then writing in English was not her cup of tea, either.
Circumventing all this, 16-year-old Megha Rao, a plus two student of Government Model Girls Higher Secondary School, Pattom, has written about her life and now has a novel to her credit.
Megha's novel Alice: The Netherworld was published recently. The 160-page story describes the adventures of Alice who gets lost in the woods and enters the Netherworld, which is filled with demons.
What inspired Megha? She saw a poster of the novel Alice in Wonderland . That triggered a question. “Why can't she be in another world?”
Her Alice may get lost in the woods, but Megha is certain she will not get lost in the choices of career.
“I already know I want to be a writer. I want to write novels, songs and comics. I want to speak to the world through my books and create an impact through my writing,” says Megha. She has also written a number of songs and also renders tunes to them. Though she wishes to try different genres and writing styles, she says she will continue writing for children.
Megha says she wants to focus on social issues and weave her novels around them.
“I would definitely want to write about them. But to make an impact I should study about the problem, read books and identify the reasons. May be in a few years I will be able to write books based on these issues,” she adds.
