Ludhiana, May 18: He held a solo exhibition of his paintings when he was in the second standard. At 13, he has published a book on brain-storming puzzles. But solving and creating puzzles is a hobby for him; he wants to be a computer engineer when he grows up. The boy is Tushar, a Class IX student of Sacred Heart Convent Senior Secondary School, Sarabha Nagar.

On the occasion of the release, Tushar shared his feelings, saying, ‘‘I have nurtured this dream for three years but till the time of its release, I did not share my dream. And today, the launch of the book has surpised everyone, including my friends, teachers and relatives.’’

According to Tushar’s mother Nirupama, ‘‘He used to solve puzzles appearing in newspapers and magazines. Slowly, his interest developed and by the time he reached the sixth standard, he had created about 20 puzzles on his own.’’ The idea of publishing these self-created puzzles in book form was given to Tushar by his father S.K. Gupta, who is an engineer in the Punjab State Electricty Board.

Narrating the story behind his book, Tushar says, ‘‘I kept making more puzzles but did not ignore studies. After making 40 puzzles, I went to the publisher along with my father. First he asked me many questions to check if the puzzles had been created by me. He told us that to make the book commercially viable, at least 96 pages were required. I came back home. My Class VIII exams were approaching but I completed the remaining puzzles in a span of 10 days and gave them to the publisher after writing preface in which my elder sister Shiny helped me.’’

The book was released by Sister Maria Leena, principal of the school. Proud of Tushar’s achievements, she said, ‘‘The book is proof that Tushar does not have only bookish knowledge but is creative.’’

Tushar says, ‘‘The book has been priced at Rs 50. It has 120 puzzles and my intention is not only to provide fun but to help one improve one’s vocabulary.’’