Bengaluru: Seher Ahmed is all of 15, with more achievements under her belt than most others twice her age. A state-level skating champ and one of the ICSE toppers at Bethany High School this year, Seher has a black belt in karate which she earned at the age of 11 and is already writing her second book, tentatively called ‘I'm not a Normal Kid’. An avid painter, she has even had her works exhibited at Chitra Kala Parishath’s Chitra Santhe.
“My mom wanted me to be involved in every activity when I was growing up,” said Seher. “Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays were for skating; Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for karate. I juggled both for many years,” she said.
At the age of 11, Seher was Green Belt level 3 in her karate class, with three belts to go before the black. “Our master had studied in Japan and his master came down to visit,” she said. “At that time, we had to perform for him - it was the breaking tile test. I also did a demonstration with the nunchaku, which is my specialty. When the results came out, I had been given a black belt,” she said. As academic pressures began to mount, karate took a backseat. “I was still skating, though, I participated in my last tournament a year ago, before tenth grade. I won at the district level and participated at the state level,” she said.
More than all of this, however, Seher loves to read. “If I get a moment to myself, I’m reading a book,” she said. “When I was in fourth grade, I wrote my first book - I still have it, a long, 200-page notebook filled with tiny handwriting!” A few years later, she returned to this hobby in earnest, which is how I’m Not a Normal Kid came about. “It's about parallel realities,” she said. “I’m fascinated by that idea. I remember thinking things like, 'it's not raining here, but what if it is in some other reality'. When I looked it up online, I found the theory of parallel realities, which became the premise of my book,” she said.
Seher is working with an editor now, who has approached publishing houses on her behalf. Leadstart Publishing, Sourcebooks and Macmillan have all received copies of the book. “The first two responded really well, but Macmillan wants me to finish the book first,” she said. “I really want to be an author,” Seher said spontaneously, adding quickly, “I mean, I want to be a doctor, but I definitely will have a book published some day!”
