Kashmiri teenage girl turns novelist in 15 years of age

A migrant teenage girl of Kashmiri descent, presently settled in Rawalpindi, has made her way into the literary world by authoring an English novel.
15 year old Ruqayia Shabir Tantray, originally hailing from Palhallan area of district Baramulla, published here her maiden book “Magical Moonbeams” last month.
The book, published by “Arqam Afaq” publishers Lahore, is a fascinating collection of nicely crafted thought-provoking stories that talk about human behaviour and attitude in different circumstances.
“Nonetheless the author has tried her level best to maintain novelistic style and tone throughout the stories crammed with humour, suspense, tragedy and fantasy. The book is indeed a treat for children and teenagers alike,” said a reader.
“The novel is basically written for children and teenagers and has all the essential elements to keep readers glued,” Ruqayia told GKNS in an interview.
Born on July 17, 1994 at Palhallan, Pattan, Ruqayia relocated to Pakistani city Rawalpindi at the age of four to live with her father, Shabir Ahmed Tantray.
Shabir moved to Rawalpindi in 1988, where he is now running a successful business venture.
Ruqayia and her mother Jameela shifted to Pakistan in 1998 on an Indian passport to join Shabir there.
Ruqayia’s parents are postgraduates from Kashmir University. While her father has done Masters in Electronics, her mother is a postgraduate in Botany.
The rare accomplishment by Ruqayia has brought cheers to her relatives and residents of Palhallan.
“We were delighted to hear that she has written a book at this little age. I went through the script last year, when I was there to meet the family,” says Ruqayia’s maternal uncle Shafiq Nadeem.
According to Shafiq, Ruqayia was inspired by her grandfather Abdul Kabir Tantray, a retired teacher and a poet inspired.
Presently studying in 11th standard, Ruqayia is known to her classmates as a brilliant student, who has acquired A+ grade in every examination. She passed her Matric last year and got 92.4% marks in the final examination. “Besides impressive academic record, Ruqayia is also an excellent debater and orator and had bagged several prizes in various inter and intra-college debate competitions,” said one of Ruqayia’s classmates.
“This is just a beginning, I will write more fiction and non-fiction, prose and poetry in the coming years”, Ruqayia said.