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Childhood is the best time when you can learn, experiment, and grow. In professional life, apply those skills you have acquired. – Niyaz Kannanchery

I believe my childhood was a beautiful era. In my early years, I played a lot of cricket, football, and many local games under the sun, in the rain, and in the shadows. My mom only saw me at home for lunch during the holidays. I spent almost all my time outdoors. Some days, I went on cycle rides far away to caves and grasslands without my mom knowing because, if she found out, I’d get in trouble. As the years passed, my dad gifted me a video game from abroad. He said we were only allowed to play typing games and could spend very little time on the Mario game (which was built into it). When he left for abroad, I started going to my friends’ homes to collect game CDs. It wasn’t the ordinary CD you see nowadays. I’m very proud to say I successfully completed the Mario game :D, and the next day, the device stopped working (in those days, saving levels wasn’t possible, and I had to play for continuous hours to finish it).

In 2004, when I was in the 9th grade, I got my first desktop. Before buying any expensive electronic items, we had a family meeting, and my dad said it was for learning MS Office, and the TV was only to be turned on for the news. My sisters and I agreed to it so we could get the desktop. 🙂 When he returned abroad, I started using it full-time. It wasn’t disobedience; kids are like that.

My mom was a teacher, so some days I came home early and started playing games. My mom found out and removed the mouse, keeping it in her bag, thinking that without the mouse, I wouldn’t be able to play. During those days, I figured out how to operate the computer without a mouse (even without the mouse pointer). I learned many keyboard shortcuts for it. For internet access, we had a dial-up connection from BSNL with speeds ranging from 70 KB to 150 KB, which was considered pretty fast at the time. 🙂

Years flew by, and I spent almost four years as a hardcore gamer. My mom had the same complaints as other parents do these days. I started with games like Road Rash, NFS (Need For Speed), DAVE, Prince of Persia, Alavudeen, FIFA 2007, Cricket, Resident Evil, Commandos, and finally ended up addicted to GTA Vice City. That’s when I stopped searching for new computer games and got completely hooked. I later upgraded to ‘GTA San Andreas,’ and I had completed around 77% of the game but couldn’t find the next level. At that point, I decided to put a full stop to my gaming life and never wasted my time on it again. In 12th grade, I started learning HTML & VB, and my focus shifted to web development. I’ll explain that in my upcoming blog.

This blog topic was inspired by my cousin, who had just passed the 10th grade. He keeps surprising me. He is the best example I can show the world of how to utilize the web in childhood, especially when youths are engrossed in social media updates. As I explained in previous blogs, I took a long break in 2016 to pursue one of my dreams. During that time, my uncle, Mr. Naser, built a beautiful interior office 2 km away from home. If I sat at home, I knew I’d waste time sleeping. So, I went there every day. Nothing was operating there; his business was flourishing in Qatar.

So, in his Kerala office, I could sit calmly and engage in my own work. From there, us Kannanchery cousins simply made a short film (without a written script)

Short Film – Untied Desi Rooster Walking Under… by niyazsky

Oh, sorry, I still haven’t mentioned the main character’s name. He is Mr. Faseen Kannanchery, who was in the 10th grade in 2016. After school in the evenings, he would come to this office, which was very close to his home, and browse the internet. I limited his browsing time to just two hours due to his upcoming 10th-grade exams in March 2017. I didn’t want anyone to say that I ruined his exam results by allowing him to spend too much time online. His routine was to check his Facebook timeline and watch Photoshop tutorials.

[In Kerala, the 10th grade is known as SSLC, and it is a very important exam. After the 10th grade, students focus on specific subjects like Commerce, Humanities, Social Science, and Computer Science. Only students who pass can join these courses, and admission is based on merit, so getting a high score is very important.]

Now, let’s get back to the story.

His Photoshop editing began with designing Facebook profiles, and he started receiving high demand from other parts of Kerala. He did it for free for his friends, and charged 50 INR for others. After a few months, he became fascinated by magic and started learning tricks from YouTube. Now, he’s pretty much a pro at small tricks. He even performed two shows at some wedding events.

His early days of learning magic?

Faseen small Magic Show (this was fb live… by niyazsky

For a boy his age, I was amazed by his talent. You know, it all started in 2016. Then, on December 4, 2016, he came to the office and asked, “Niyaz Ka, I know Photoshop design, and now magic. I want to expand my skills into another area. What should I learn?” I told him to learn drawing because Dileef, a cartoonist, was a good friend of mine and was there with me at the time. So, he grabbed a sticky note and drew my portrait. I remember the exact date because I usually update my life events on Twitter.

After learning Photo Editing, HTML, and Magic Tricks, now my cousin Faseen is jumping into drawing. He drew mine. #ScorePlease #FirstTry 🙂 pic.twitter.com/EW9MPWALOO

— Niyaz Kannanchery (@niyazsky) December 4, 2016

He quickly grasped the art of drawing and showed me all his drawings, which improved over time. He started with hand-drawn art and eventually moved on to digital drawing.

His parents were very concerned about his upcoming 10th-grade results. He was a bit of a troublemaker in his family. You know, every family has kids like that: they don’t listen, they disappear, go out to play without permission, and so on. At that age, such behavior can seem like a serious offense. Well, not really an offense, but families are just worried about their children’s future and try to keep them in a safe zone. But surprisingly, he passed with full A+ grades in all 10 subjects. It was a shock to the entire Kannanchery family, given his remarkable achievement.

He is currently enjoying his 10th-grade exam vacation and waiting for the Computer Science allotment call. During this vacation, he joined a photo studio, and the owner asked about his skills before offering him a job. A few weeks ago, he created some abstract art, and I didn’t understand the meaning of one piece until he explained it. But it was truly beautiful.

He is exploring different talents while others waste their time on WhatsApp and update their profile pictures every minute. I know everyone has different talents, but having multiple talents at this age is something the world needs to know about. It’s truly special, and he is really special. I am so proud of you, Faseen Kannanchery, and I know your parents must be even more proud. Keep growing, keep improving. See you at the top.

Follow his Instagram -> faseen_kannanchery to view all and his Facebook Page – FN editography to support this young talent.

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