Riyad Maroof Hassan, in short RM Hassan (b 14-02-2008), a young fantasy writer from Dibrugarh, Assam is the youngest writer of Assam and he penned his debut novel “How We Became Magnificent” when he was ten. He won the State Record Certificate from the Assam Book of Records (ABR).

http://www.assambookofrecords.in/article/MTY1/article.html

Riyad is also a poet, writer of fiction and non-fiction. He is also a singer, painter and anchor. Though writing is his passion, he says his profession would be different. He is also interested in Indian History and Maths. And he says he likes his friends for he and they learn many a thing from one another. Earlier, a student of Salt Brook School, he is now a student of Shiksha Valley School, both located in Dibrugarh.

Muse India congratulates Riyad Maroof Hassan and wishes him all the best in his future creative endeavours as well as an inspiring and wholesome life. And here is the interview of him done by Semeen Ali, our Editor for Poetry and Fiction. [Editor].

SEMEEN ALI (SEMEEN): Since you come from a family of literary figures and your grandfather Hassan Sharif Ahmed was a noted litterateur, did that to a certain extent influence or inspire you to begin writing? 

RIYAD MAROOF HASSAN (RIYAD): I was a bookworm since the age of 6 and I still remember buying my first book that was an encyclopaedia. From a very young age, I was fond of Encyclopaedias and story books. My late grandfather Hasan Sharif Ahmed used to share books with me to read, even if it was a dictionary. Whenever I interacted with him, I could always see him writing. He used to tell me about the work and maybe that started my interests and pointed me to the path I should walk in literature which was paved by my late grandfather. He also helped me become an avid reader of Assamese books. His encouragement was enough for me to move through my journey. He was a noted literary figure and a cultural activist, and he used to take me to his meetings to unlock the key of literature.

SEMEEN: While writing what are the themes that you focus on, rather, which themes appeal to you? 

RIYAD: I wrote my first story when I was five years old about a cat and a mouse. When I turned 8, I completed my first story with not much grammatical errors and it was about a dream of a young boy Peter Williams who landed up on an isle adventure which I named The Dreaming Adventures of Peter Williams – An Isle Adventure. That started my love towards fictional writings. I was a voracious reader of Goosebumps and Geronimo Stilton as a young lad. Soon, I started showing interest towards non-fiction and wrote my next story The Real Art. Giving a stoppage to those books, I had new collections to read by Ruskin Bond and Enid Blyton. Though Enid Blyton’s stories fall under the category of fiction, they inspired me a lot towards perfecting my writing skills. Most of Ruskin Bond’s books made me wonder about the native view of lives in India. At the age of 10, I completed my first book in the fantasy genre and now, fiction and non-fiction both form the two sides of my literary life.

SEMEEN: Your first novel – How We Became Magnificent – is a story about six superheroes. Is there any reason that you chose six as a number? And why? 

RIYAD: When I was ten years old, an idea came up in my mind, of a group of super-heroes, young ones, fighting against evil and I imagined four boys and two girls with super abilities and that is how six came up as the number of the young super-heroes that added a flavour to my story with the Six Super-heroes tag.

SEMEEN: Also, could you please share with us what made you take up this genre – fantasy literature as a form of writing? 

RIYAD: Reading fantasy books inspired me a lot in my childhood and those stories I read used to change into another story of my vision and I felt like I was playing the lead role and my path towards the globe of fantasy was slowly moving on and new stories popped out into the pages of my notebook or my desktop. Every night, I dream before my sleep for creative ideas and it takes me to a newer and brighter panel of fantasy and literature.

SEMEEN: Your poems have a lot of depth and are quite inspirational. Is there a careful selection of themes that you look at while writing poems?

RIYAD: I have been writing poems since the age of 10. I believe that poetry in simple words can be referred to as an expressions of thoughts in a creative way. I read poetry books to know how poems are framed as well as to study the structure of the poems. When I write, I consider and express the thoughts that I feel and which come to my mind. Robert Frost used to say, “Writing a poem is discovering,” and for me, thoughts are discovered/unravelled in my mind to express it to the readers.

SEMEEN: If you could share with us the first poem that you wrote.  

RIYAD: The first poem I wrote was titled ‘Nature’ and it is on the same theme. [The poem is appended... Ed.]. In the first two verses, I compared nature with glamour, as I believed nature was a word of enchantment and glory and carried with it the quality of attractiveness. It all started when I was studying the English textbook of my school in the 5^th Grade about the environment and an idea jumped out into my Story-Notebook where I contributed a poem to my collection of stories, and since then poetry has been a part of my literary life.

SEMEEN: Any future novels that you are working on? And if you could share a few details regarding them? 

RIYAD: My second book The Times of Enormity is coming soon on various platforms and also as an eBook at numerous online literary platforms. The book is about a policeman’s remembrance of a lethal incident in his career, in a mysterious twist of a thrilling trip towards enormity.

SEMEEN: Your first novel was published when you were ten years old, and as time has passed does that idea of you writing at such a young age allow you to interact with children of your age or did you distance yourself from friends and wrote this book?

RIYAD: When I published my debut book How We Became Magnificent, I got a lot of support from my friends who were avid readers and a few of them used to write stories and show me their works. I never felt like distancing from them, instead I tried learning a lot from them as an author learns from a reader to improve their work or how it can be improved. I discussed my stories with my friends and I was also writing a play around that time. A friend of mine used to read it and loved the play a lot. The play was based on a daily life at a hotel of funny neighbours and some witty stories revolving around them. I enjoyed a lot while sharing my works and learning from my friends.

SEMEEN: Could you share with us your educational background? What school you are studying in and what are your favourite subjects? 

RIYAD: I study in 8^th Grade of Shiksha Valley School, Dibrugarh. I am fond of each subject I have been studying but I am a researcher of History and especially, learning about the Indian History. Solving Mathematics problems is also another hobby, so you can call me a Mathematics lover. These two are the favourite ones in my list of subjects.

SEMEEN: Do you wish to pursue literature later on and where do you see yourself ten years from now. 

RIYAD:  I wish to pursue literature as an author but not as a research scholar. I would like to be an author, translating my expressions into books, stories, poems and articles to be preserved forever.

I wish to study Artificial Intelligence Development that includes the products made for getting the future ready and other related interesting topics. I see myself ten years from now as a Developer at whichever specified topic I study and also as an author specializing in children’s literature and contributing to the progress of the young minds of tomorrow with my skills and literature.

--------------------------------------------------------------

 ‘Nature’ – Poem by Riyad Maroof Hassan

The beautiful earth,
Our mother,
Has an incredible Nature,
The word representing glamour.
The water drops when it rains,
The rustling leaves when the wind blows.
The tree that shades,
The lovely river that flows by.

Love the Nature,
And, the other beautiful creature.
This is Nature,
The word representing glamour.