Priya Varatharajan is just like you and me, when we were 13. She seems baffled by all the attention her book is getting and seems unsure on how she got where she is today. Ask her about her story and how she got it out on the racks, she draws a blank. All she knows is that she loves reading and writing and her book is a reflection of her passion.
The author of Far From Normal, this budding writer is yet to experience the sights and smells of high school.
NXg's interview with her was casual, candid and completely honest.
“I've always wanted to write, all the way from back in kindergarten,” says Priya, “but this book began only in November.” Started when she was 12, finished when she was 13 with three months dedicated effort, with rapid editing and publishing by Pustak Mahal, her literary debut was good to go.
Imaginative tale
A published author by 13, most people would expect her to take writing as her primary career option but Priya claims that it will be no more than a serious hobby, while she pursues a career in engineering, perhaps.
Each writer has his or her own muses, each has various sources of inspiration and every piece of writing stems loosely from events or people involved in the author's own life.
When this is the case, where does Far From Normal come from? “I cannot relate personally to any of my characters and I cannot identify any one source of information. To put it casually, the entire process was very random. My characters have been based loosely on people I have come across at various times in my life. Other than that, the entire plot is purely from imagination.”
Every time the media publishes anything about a student achieving or accomplishing in a particular field, the one question that is guaranteed to crop up in anyone's mind is that regarding time management. How is it that a student today is able to be academically successful while also pursuing his or her hobbies in a serious, defined path with a sense of direction? For Priya though, that seems to be a nonissue. Homework does not bother her. Tests are no hussels and writing takes first priority at home.
With unwavering support form her parents, help ready at hand from her father's colleagues, a laptop set up in her room and an imagination let loose, Far From Normal was just waiting to happen. When asked why people should read her book, Priya's eyes lit up with conviction as she exclaimed “Read it to get away from things. That is what books are for. And if you want to write, practise everyday. Everyday, you should come up with one sentence that you like so much, you can convert into a story.”
Though Priya may claim that given the choice, she'd do the entire book differently now and she regrets having rushed through the writing process to meet deadlines, the final product doesn't reflect this hurry or the second thoughts that the author had at the end of it. The final product, notwithstanding the mediocre editing, only reflects a blossoming writer with a lot to tell the world.
