Book of hope: Rishikesh Renjith

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Tagged ‘talentless’ by one of his schoolmates in Christ Nagar School, Rishikesh Renjith had to prove that he was a good creative writer. ‘Life Doesn’t Always Point North’, his soon-to-be published book, was born when he decided to do something which others will appreciate. But he was blank about what to write on. That was when he attended a story writing competition wherein topics were not allotted beforehand. He won the first prize in the competition. “Later, one of my friends Sreeraj suggested that I publish the story in the form of a book and exhibit it in my school on a special occasion. “His words inspired me and I decided to work more on the details of the story,” says Rishikesh. He decided to make this project happen by including his friends Sreeraj, Arjun S Nair and Arnav Rawat as well in its making. “I didn’t want it to be my book alone. The writing part was mine, but they helped me quite a lot for making the book more colourful. We joined hands and named the team S.A.R.A, by taking the first letter from each of our names,” says Rishikesh. Each of them took roles. Sreeraj got into the shoes of a critic, while Arjun and Arnav drew pictures for the book. Once the rough draft was prepared, Rishikesh had it all typed on his personal computer. “We were then faced with the biggest problem. Debates went on about naming the book, for which my other classmates too helped us out,” says Rishikesh.Finally, the name came from the author himself. When asked about the reason behind the rather philosophical title, ‘Life Doesn’t Always Point North’, he said, “There are times when we are faced with the most disheartening incidents which make us think how we are going to move forward. How are we going to overcome the obstacles? So through the story I wanted to convey the message that life is not a bed of roses,” says its author Rishikesh. The story revolves around an orphan, Jimmy, who is adopted into a reputed family in London. The ill treatment he faces there makes him think of himself as the most unlucky person. One day he goes to the bank to collect some money and there he sees people at the bank being held hostages by a few terrorists who had earlier conspired to assassinate the Queen of England. Their demand was to release their leaders held under the custody of the anti-terrorist forces of England. Jimmy plots a clever plan by which the hostages are rescued. It gives Jimmy immense confidence and makes him believe that he is capable of doing good for society.