Amrita Ghosh (Bengaluru)

Although he is only 12 years of age, Arnay Agarwal, a class VII student of Bengaluru’s top-ranked Greenwood High International School, has authored two e-books — Most Amazing Dussehra Vacations Ever on Kindle in 2019 and Adventure of Juno and Ira for Juggernaut Books in 2018 — with his first paperback Happy Holiday Medley (Amazon) released last October.

A slim volume of 40 pages, Happy Holiday Medley recounts the young author’s experiences in the garden city of Bengaluru during a 2018 Dussehra vacation — ranging from a Halloween party to a chance encounter with the great grandson of the Dewan of Mysore in the court of the erstwhile Mysore Maharajah.

The only child of Eva Agarwal, a software professional, reading caught Arnay’s fancy at age four. “Unlike my mother who was restricted to read only academic textbooks, I am fortunate to be blessed with a parent who has built a mini-library full of my favourite books over the years,” says this gifted child author.

Inspired by Elisabetta Dami and Clive Cussler, his favourite authors, Arnay started writing short stories when he was seven, many of which were published in the children’s section of The Hindu and some prominent children’s magazines.

Arnay acknowledges the great contribution of Greenwood High’s English teacher Zara Kunders for arousing his love for the written word. Right after release of his first paperback, this pre-teen author has begun work on his second, Mrs Clark. “My books written for young kids are action-packed with a mix of suspense and adventure,” he says.

To develop his writing skills, Arnay does two hours of extra-curricular reading every day after completing his homework, followed by an hour of writing and introspecting about his next thriller.

Driven by a mission to spread the joy of reading, in 2018 Arnay launched Reading Rhino, a digital platform to share book summaries, short stories and reviews to inspire young readers. “I hope one day to start a non-profit society for underprivileged children while continuing to write stories to encourage children to enjoy and develop the reading habit,” says Arnay.

Way to Go!