Hindustan Times (Lucknow)

Where there’s a will, there’s a way to unlock happiness

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The science of happiness is simple — if you want to be happy, focus on things that give you joy. In fact, it’s one of the most crucial lessons that the lockdown taught us. Mondelez India’s Happiness Unlocked campaign shines the light on people who created inspiring stories of happiness despite the pandemic restrictio­ns.

CREATING MAGIC THROUGH WORDS

Not often do we come across a nine-year-old who touches the lives of people with her imaginatio­n and also goes on to become one of the youngest authors to have a bestsellin­g book to her name. This is the story of Kavya Kompella, a fourth-grader from Bengaluru, Karnataka, who is not just an avid reader but also the writer of fantasy adventure, The Three Adventurer­s at Fungalore.

Kompella has always been surrounded by books, thanks to her parents who are voracious readers, too. Hence, when life came to a standstill due to the Covid-19-induced lockdown, she created the story of a fantasy world where kids enjoy school with their pets and experience some magical adventures.

This began a new chapter in Kompella’s life. From a fun pastime turned into a bestseller in India. The book was a hit in the US and Germany as well. Her parents were moved to see the overwhelmi­ng response her book received across the globe. A father read out the book on the phone from India every day to his child in the US during the time of travel restrictio­ns, a six-year-old wrote a short story as a return gift to Kompella, another child was motivated to write her own book.

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 ??  ?? Kavya Kompella, a fourth-grader from Bengaluru, Karnataka, shows off her bestsellin­g debut novel, The Three Adventurer­s of Fungalore, that she wrote during lockdown.
Kavya Kompella, a fourth-grader from Bengaluru, Karnataka, shows off her bestsellin­g debut novel, The Three Adventurer­s of Fungalore, that she wrote during lockdown.

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