Thiruvananthapuram: "What do you want from life" is a favourite question among grown-ups, especially when running into those who have passed class X board exams. But ask Fayaz Sait, 15, an author who has completed one book and is now writing another, and he would not give a single-word answer like 'doctor,' 'engineer' or 'teacher.' "I have many wishes. Every day, my list of wishes grows," he says.

One of his many wishes is to be an IAS officer, but he wants to be much more. "If my book gets published, I might become a writer. But being an IAS official is an ambition," he says. He studied at Government Central High School, Attakkulangara. "If it were a higher secondary school, I would have studied here. I love its big trees and the quiet," he says. He is a voracious reader. He says he has finished reading at least 100 books. These include almost every work Basheer has written. He was most deeply affected by S. K. Pottekkad's 'Oru Desathinte Katha'. "Probably I write because I read so much. I am inspired," he says.





He shows the photos he has clicked with writers Perumbadavam Sreedharan, T.D. Ramakrishnan and George Onakkoor. That is another of his wishes-to meet as many writers as possible. "They are geniuses. Each encounter with them is unforgettable. I meet them because I don't want to leave the earth without leaving my mark as an individual," he says.

How does he manage to contact renowned writers? "Through old-fashioned ways. I find their addresses and write to them. Writer Perumbadavam Sreedharan responded to my note on his 'Oru Sankeertanam Pole.' I wrote it in a state of euphoria," he says. He would not share the name of his first book. "I want to keep it a suspense," he says. Writer George Onakkoor has promised to help him get his book published.