Summary
Chosen is Suyash Dasgupta’s debut venture, a novel written in verse
The book uses songs to create a multisensory experience for readers
What happens when a teenager who loves writing and music turns into an author? He makes a musical book! Suyash Dasgupta’s debut book is punctuated with QR codes that navigate readers to songs to take the narrative forward.
Chosen is not just a book, but a multisensory experience. A novel written in verse, it highlights the important but seldom-talked-about issue of mental health.
The 88-page book tells the story of Mason, an eighth grader who is a bully and vents out his frustration on peers, physically hurting them. But Mason has another side to him — he enjoys poetry, writing and music. Mason has only one friend named Jordan.
Suyash wanted to start a conversation on mental health, physical and substance abuse. “I aim to create awareness among people of my generation through words and music,” said the Class XII student of Singapore American School (SAS). He underlined the need for people to talk about their mental health. “The longer problems are suppressed the more harmful they can be.”
Talking about his literary journey, Suyash said ever since he read Kwame Alexander’s novel The Crossover in Class VI he wanted to write a novel in verse. He was also inspired by Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds and artistes like NF and Eminem.
“I tried writing story books in the past but always gave up. This is my first fruitful venture,” Suyash said.
A six-month course in school that gives sṭudents the opportunity and time to dive deeper into their areas of interest acted as the perfect catalyst for Suyash. He started writing Chosen in January 2021 and completed it by July 2021.
“My parents were really supportive and encouraged me all the way. And my friend Anish helped me with the music,” Suyash said. He also thanked his publisher Rituraj Kapila of Academic Foundation and Jennifer Anne Champion, a Singaporean poet who mentored and assisted him during his stumbling moments.
The book cover of Suyash Dasgupta
As president and founder of the Digital Citizens Service club in school, Suyash has used his novel to raise funds for improving the digital infrastructure and quality of education in Jharkhand’s Anandalaya Public School. The club was set up in 2018 and is aimed at supporting young learners to become digital citizens by encouraging the use of virtual learning tools and bridging the education infrastructure and learning gap in that school. The club hosts crowdfunding drives, along with innovative fundraising events such as Cook for a Cause, Ludo for a Cause and Chess for a Cause. The launch of Suyash’s book was also a fundraiser for the mission.
Suyash may be a writer, but his favourite subjects in school are Physics, Maths and Economics.
A quick look at Suyash’s Insta handle reveals his other love — food and cooking. “I love to cook, I recreate different cuisines at home, my favourite part is plating them and my parents love it when I cook,” said the boy, who also has a food blog. Fave food? Pasta Carbonara, Paneer Tikka.
Not surprising that one of the highlights of Suyash’s annual visits to his maternal grandmother’s home in Kolkata were Dimer Devil, kati rolls and Arsalan biryani.
“My grandmother is no more and this book is dedicated to her,” Suyash said.
The book published by Academic Foundation is available on Amazon and Kindle.
The story doesn’t end here. “Chosen is not the end of Mason and Jordan’s story. I do see myself writing more parts of the novel in the future,” he said.
Suyash’s message to peers who want to start writing: “Once you start writing, do finish it.”
Last updated on 18 Feb 2022
