At 7, child prodigy honours literary legacy with first book

New Delhi, September 20

Padma Bhushan recipient Rashtrakavi Maithalisharan Gupts and Santkavi Siyaramsharan Gupt's great grand daughter Abhijita Gupta, who is all of seven years and a child prodigy, has penned her first collection of stories and poems.

The book titled 'Happiness All Around', and was launched by Oxford Bookstores' children's wing, Oxford Junior in collaboration with Invincible Publishers. Seven-year-old Abhijita, taking after her family's literary legacy, had started writing at a very tender age of five years.

"Abhijita is a student of Class II and is a third generation writer, to poet duo Rashtrakavi Shri Maithalisharan Gupt and Santkavi Shri Siyaramsharan Gupt. She is an avid reader and very expressive with her pen. She wrote her first story when she was a little over five years. By the grace of goddess Saraswati, she is carrying forward the traits of her forefathers and we hope she extends the legacy of Sahitya Sadan Gharana," her parents Ashish Gupt and Anupriya Gupta said.

They added that the title of the book, cover page and all the illustration are also a part of her creativity.

"For her, every little thing around her matters: what she sees, she hears, she touches, she smells, she tastes and she feels -- constantly soaking in the environment around her. And, her debut book proffers just that - the pure senses and humane values like an elixir."

The collection is an attempt to give children something to read, written by someone of their own age. The book could prove equally useful for parents of young children, as it gives an insight into the mind of a six-seven year old and what thoughts and things interest her. The writings have been left untouched so that the innocence, mistakes included, of the child are not diluted. IANS