9-year-old girl lets her imagination run wild

In times of adversities while a majority of the population is embroiled in tiding over the hardships and cursing the situation, a few turn it into an opportunity by showcasing their talents and becoming a paradigm for hope.

During COVID lockdown as the country came to a standstill and children complained of boredom, Kavya Kompella, a nine-year-old girl, studying in Class 4 at Sishu Griha School, Bangalore, became a sensation and created a history of sorts by penning a book named 'The Three Adventurers at Fungalore'.

Kavya's father is Telugu and mother Divya Kumar Tamil and they currently live in Bangalore. Expressing his happiness Kavya's father Kashyap Kompella, an industry analyst for Artificial Intelligence, said, "It brought me tears of joy because it was a challenging time when everyone was combating with coronavirus.

It was a proud moment for us as she took on herself and wrote a book. After it got released the outcome was so fruitful. This story has inspired many people in our neighbourhood. We have plans to go for the print edition, once the situation turns normal."

The book became a bestseller and shared the glory along with the top 20 renowned authors. The book has become a sensation in the newly-released series on Amazon USA, UK and Germany in the children's adventure category. The 100-page book with a story of 13,000 words also contains 30 illustrations including the cover page drawn by the child author.

In an exclusive telephonic interview with The Hans India reporter, Kavya shares about her passion and inspiration.

Excerpts:

On penning a book at such a young age

Kavya says, "When the Coronavirus lockdown began I was in grade 3 and during the summer vacation I could not go out and play with my friends. Staying at home I read several story books and still I had a lot of free time. So, I started writing a story about two kids along with a dog going to a new school.

I started enjoying writing the story; so, I continued with it and it finally took a shape of a book. It took nearly two months and the book was released on July 15."

On pets going to school and naming the book Fungalore

I got the idea from my playschool Green Pocket which was a unique school having various pets and a playful environment. First I wanted it to name it as a boarding school like Enid Blyton, but I wanted some magical adventure so I named it as The Three Adventurers at Fungalore as this story has a lot of fun, adventures and glory.

Reactions to the book becoming a bestseller

Initially I didn't want to publish my book as I am little shy and was worried about how would my friends react but after it for published my friends appreciated me and also many of them started writing stories. My father and mother inspired and appreciated me.

Her hobbies and writing plans

I started reading books at the age of six and love reading various kinds of books. I also love to learn various languages and trying to learn German and Braille. Some of my favorite authors are Enid Blyton, Jeanne Birdsall (author of the Penderwicks series) and Roopa Pai.

Besides writing and reading books, I love to draw and won many prizes in drawing competitions. I have written a short story on how two children were stuck at home during the starting of lockdown and for this also story I won the first prize at the Katha Corner story contest. Yes, I want to write more books on magic and adventures.

Her secret of success and message to children

My secret of success is hard work. As writing is a lot of fun and so everyone at any age can start writing.