Ishita Katyal is another smart, bubbly 10-year-old girl from Pune, India. However, unlike other boys & girls of her age, she is already a published author. She wrote a book called Simran’s Diary when she was just eight years old. Moreover, she is the youngest TEDxYouth organizer in the Asia-Pacific region.
She is indeed one inspiring kid who says that you don’t have to wait till you grow up to do what you want to do. She wants to be an author, not when she grows up, but now! She worked on her own idea and wrote her first book Simran’s Diary when she was just eight years old. Her parents initially published her book on Kindle and later a publisher approached them to publish it. Now her book is printed and it is available for sale. This is what she says, in her own words –
When we approached publishers, they said they publish books for kids, not by kids. I thought, wouldn’t a kid understand better what’s good for kids?
She attended one TEDx event in her own city with her parents in 2013 and decided to organize one herself. She actually convinced her school authorities and managed to get the TEDx license. With the help of her school teachers and friends, she actually organized an independent TEDx event in Pune in Feb 2015. She was also one of the speakers at TEDYouth 2015 held in November 2015. As far as I know, that video is not yet public.
It would be an understatement to say that I am impressed with this girl. She is clear about what she wants at this stage and she is bold enough to do it herself. I think lot of credit must go to her parents for their encouragement and support. I am curious to see how she grows as a person with the clarity and courage that she possesses at this age. She even talks about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and reaching the top of it: self-actualization!! 🙂
You can watch her talk in Bhilwara here –
As she says, the best time to do what you rally want to do is now! What do you think?
