Meet Assam's Ayan Gogoi Gohain - the 'Youngest Author of India'

At an age when most children start craving alphabets on their slate, four-year-old Ayan Gogoi Gohain of Assam’s North Lakhimpur district has achieved a major feat by earning the distinction of ‘Youngest Author of India’.

Ayan, a student of St Mary’s School in North Lakhimpur, was bestowed with the title of the youngest author by the India Book of Records for his book ‘Honeycomb’, published in January this 2018.

Priced at Rs 250 at one of the leading online stores, Honeycomb comprises 30 anecdotes and accompanying illustrations by the toddler.

Ayan is not just India’s but probably the world’s youngest author and artist. He is a quick-witted, self-effacing and sensitive child who reportedly started painting at the age of one and began composing his own stories at the age of three. At four, he started clearly expressing himself in Assamese and English.

The amazing journey of Ayan’s Honeycomb started when he began to address his insatiable hunger for words, colours, sounds, tastes and sights, according to blurb of the book.

The little Ayan has a passion for yoga and his hobbies include watching cartoons, photography, travelling, playing badminton and football, baking, gardening and playing with his puppy, Oreo.

The four-year-old boy credits his grandfather Purno Kanta Gogoi for inspiring him to paint and write and considers him his “best friend and hero”.

“My grandfather inspires me to paint and write about new stuff every day. He is my storyteller, a rock star and a football lover. He is my best friend. My Chocolate Man!” PTI quoted Ayan as saying.

Gogoi, a retired bank officer, believes that the little Ayan would create wonders when he will grow up.

“He is a wonder kid. I remember he had once seen a rainbow and composed a poem, comparing its seven colours with the seven notes of music,” the proud grandfather recounted.

Even the cover page of ‘Honeycomb’ was designed by Gohain, the retired bank official said.

‘Honeycomb’ has been reviewed by several litterateurs, including author and poet Dilip Mohapatra. The excerpts of the reviews have been published on the back page of the book.

(With inputs from PTI)