We are living in uncertain times where truth is stranger than fiction. And yet, 18-year-old Yash Tiwari attempted to fictionalise what we are going through today only to send out the message that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
A budding journalist in India, a poor boy in China, a traveller stuck in Italy and a powerless doctor in the US — these four stories are interwoven in his book titled Pandemic 2020. "The story sums up the journey the world has been through in the past few months, how the crisis unfolded and how it grew stronger. And though we don't really know how things will end in reality, I promise you will find an inspiring and motivational ending at the end of my novel," says the writer. The ebook was launched by Oxford Bookstore in the first week of June.
A peek into the book
Yash penned his first book A Celebration In Tribulation when he was 16. It was about Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease, a degenerative brain disorder while his latest is on Coronavirus — do we detect a pattern here with regard to writing about medical thrillers, we ask him. "It is not about diseases, but human emotions and feelings I like to touch upon. I also believe that a story can't be told via just one point of view so, in both my books, I take you through the story via multiple viewpoints," shares the author who is also a four-time TEDx speaker. Similarly, Pandemic 2020 gives us four viewpoints. The idea of this novel came to Yash when he was watching the news day in and day out. Those were the days when the scare had just started to spread in India. He had to put in a lot of research and time to get the factual parts of the story right because of which every page from the 320-pager book feels relatable. "I wanted to show that the global crisis will end and no matter what we are united and we stand together, though in a socially-distanced way," he says with a smile.
How he binge writes
Incidentally, Yash wears many hats. He is a youth mentor, public speaker, motivator, he has delivered several workshops in colleges, apart from being a writer. Yet, he managed to write Pandemic 2020 in less than a month. The thing is, when he starts writing, he is a slave to the process, "It's like binge-watching, I binge write," he laughs as he shares. He has been writing since he was seven and always felt a certain passion for it. "I also feel passionate about speaking up, whether it's through writing or public speaking. I try to utilise the opportunities I have to the best of my ability and try to do my bit," says Yash, who is pursuing Mass Communication from Jagran Institute of Management and Mass Communication. He feels strongly drawn towards journalism and in the future, would like to tell stories for a living. "My motivation for writing has always been to start conversations," he says.
"As a compulsive overthinker, I tend to over-analyse and I channelise this into creating narratives and into my writing," explains the youngster who delivered a Josh Talk which has over 2 lakh views. He already has a few ideas in mind for his next book, he just needs to select one and write away.
For more on him, check out yashtiwari.org
