How many 10-year-olds do you know who鈥檝e written a book? None?
Meet Muskan Virk. The Panorama resident says she鈥檚 to date sold 鈥減robably 10,000鈥� copies of her self-published book, 365 Days of Gratitude, and her book tours have taken her to signings in New York, Los Angeles and Seattle, where she has an event this weekend.
She draws her inspiration, she says, from her mom Meera Virk, a life coach.
Muskan鈥檚 book was released in 2016. It鈥檚 based on her 鈥済ratitude journal,鈥� which has 455 entries pared down to 365.
鈥淚t took me a year and a half. I started writing when I was six years old and I finished when I was seven, but the publishing process took a little while,鈥� Muskan told the Now-Leader.
Her philosphy?
鈥淏e grateful for everything around you and just have fun with your life, and don鈥檛 always be like 鈥業 have to do this and this and this. Be able to be like, 鈥楢h, I鈥檒l do that later.鈥�
鈥淎nd to be grateful for at least one thing every day. To be you, no matter what, and have fun in life. Also, if you have fear or hatred or anything that comes from fear, shed some love on it and it will become into love.鈥�
She has a publicist from Buffalo, New York, and her mom says they are entertaining publishing offers from some traditional publishing houses in the U.S.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got some on the table,鈥� Meera said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not in a rush. 鈥淭hey want to buy the rights for this one. Buffalo is doing a 鈥楪ratitude Day,鈥� the whole city, in honour of this little girl.鈥�
Muskan is contemplating writing two more books, one on homelessness and the other on gender inequality.
365 Days of Gratitude was born out of a disturbing realization. Before her sixth birthday, her grandmother brought home a flyer from the Sikh temple she attended, from an organization creating awareness about gender inequality.
Muskan read it, and asked her mom to explain why some people seek to abort female fetuses because they prefer sons over daughters.
鈥淢uskan, there are some people that prefer boys over girls,鈥� Meera recalls telling her daughter. 鈥淎nd she鈥檚 like, 鈥極h, OK, and then what?鈥� I said, 鈥淗oney, they don鈥檛 like to have girls.鈥� She said, 鈥楾hen what? What does it say, what does it say about it?鈥� She got curious. And I said, 鈥榊ou know Honey, then they don鈥檛 even let the girls (be) born. They take their right of birth.鈥� She鈥檚 like, 鈥楬ow?鈥� I said, 鈥楾hey kill them in the mommy鈥檚 tummy.鈥�
鈥淭he minute I said that she started crying very heavily, and she just went upstairs in the bedroom.鈥�
Meera sat beside her. Muskan asked her, 鈥淲hat right do they have to take a life away? This has to change, mom. It鈥檚 just not right 鈥� I have to do something about it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not fair.鈥�
Muskan wiped her eyes. The next day, she went to school and spoke with a teacher who does charity work. The teacher asked her to write about it in a daily journal, and she did. The rest, as they say, is history.
鈥淲ell, I was six years old so I鈥檇 wake up in the morning and eat breakfast, and then get ready and then go to school,鈥� she said, describing her regimen. 鈥淚鈥檇 go to school, and look what I was grateful for, pick one thing I was grateful for, come home, write it down, go to bed.鈥�
Here鈥檚 her entry for Day 1: 鈥淚鈥檓 thankful that my family believes in gender equality and that I鈥檓 welcomed and loved as a girl.鈥�
Said Meera, 鈥淚 told her, 鈥楩ocus on what is good in your world.鈥欌��
Meera said her daughter is 鈥渁 beautiful gift. She鈥檚 my inspiration now. My heartbeat that beats outside my heart. She鈥檚 a very special child.
鈥淪he has a purpose and she found that at a very young age,鈥� Meera said. 鈥淲hat I see in the world right now, it鈥檚 so much chaos. It鈥檚 lack of love. Underneath, everybody鈥檚 wanting love.鈥�
The Grade 5 student at Southridge, a private school in South 性视界传媒, is also a self-described 鈥淗arry Potter freak鈥� who earned a black belt in Tae kwon do last October.
鈥淚 like all subjects. I like school, overall,鈥� she said.
When she鈥檚 older, Muskan says, she wants to continue to pursue the life of an inspirational speaker/writer, 鈥渂ut I also know that I want to go to Harvard. I think I want to take medicine there, and from there have my own business.鈥�
tom.zytaruk@
thenownewspaper.com
