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Childhood is the best time when you can Learn, Experiment, and Grow. In Professional Life, apply those skills you have achieved – Niyaz Kannanchery

I believe my childhood went through 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 holidays’ daytime. I spent almost all my time on the ground. Some days, I went for cycle rides far away to caves and grasslands without my mom knowing because if she found out, I would 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 very little time on 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 Mario game :D, and the next day, the device wasn’t 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 to be turned on only for news. My sisters and I agreed to it to get the desktop. 🙂 When he returned abroad, I started using it full-time. It wasn’t disobedience; children are like that.

My mom was a teacher, so some days I arrived home early and started playing games. My mom found out and removed the mouse and kept it in her bag, thinking that without the mouse, I wouldn’t be able to play. During those days, I found out how to operate the computer without a mouse (even the mouse pointer). I learned many keyboard shortcuts for it. For internet access, we had a dial-up net cable 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 4 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, Residence 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 my 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 very nice 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 here. He is Mr. Faseen Kannnanchery, who was studying in the 10th grade in 2016. After school, in the evenings, he came to this office, which is very close to his home, and browsed the internet. I limited his browsing time to only 2 hours due to his upcoming 10th-grade exam 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 then watch Photoshop tutorials.

[In Kerala, the 10th grade is known as SSLC, and it is a very important exam. After the 10th grade, students divert their interests to 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.]

So, let’s come back to the story.

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

His beginning days of learning magic?

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

For a boy at this age, I was getting surprised 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 designing, now magic. I want to expand my skills in another sector. What should I learn?” I told him to learn drawing because Dileef Cartoonist was a good friend of mine and was there with me at the time. So, he took a sticky note and drew mine. 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 he showed me all his drawings, which were getting better 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 this age, such behavior seems like a serious offense. No, not an offense; 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 inquired 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 very beautiful.

He is exploring different talents while others waste their time on WhatsApp and update their profile pictures minute by 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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by Niyaz Kannanchery