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LUMS Alumna Ayesha Aslam Authors Lost and Found
August 24, 2012
It is always heartening to hear how LUMS graduates make their mark in the world outside the gates of LUMS. Another link in that chain is our alumna from the BSc (Honours) Class of 2002, Ayesha Aslam. She has been working as an Editor at LUMS since 2010 and has recently authored her first book titled, Lost and Found, published by the Oxford University Press (OUP) Pakistan. The book is now available at all OUP stores across Pakistan.
Lost and Found is aimed at children between three to six years of age. It is a conversation between a little boy who is looking around for his toys and keeps asking his mother if she knows where they are. The book is a wonderful endeavour towards filling up the reading gap which appears to have widened over the past few years. Another very important highlight of this written piece are its eye-catching illustrations which make the reading a fun experience for both, kids and their parents. The vibrant illustrations are done by Ayesha's sister, Sara Aslam, who is studying Architecture at the National College of Arts (NCA).
In a conversation about her recently published book, Ayesha revealed that her son, Eisa, now 7 years old, is the inspiration behind this project of hers, which started three years ago, when he was only four. While recalling how it all began, she shared that initially the intended audience was only her son but later the dearth of books written for that age group within Pakistan became the push for her. She went on and explained that she felt that kids like “rhythm” in everything, which also holds true for reading. This is why the book is written in rhyme.
Ayesha also confirmed that the illustrations of the boy in the book do not just resemble her son coincidentally, but are actually based on him. In fact, Sara, the illustrator, used Eisa as a model for the illustrations.
While talking about her future plans, Ayesha said that she would like to continue writing for the younger age groups and hopes to see her book included on reading lists at schools in the near future.
Ayesha added that reading trend in Pakistan especially among younger age groups is declining and the only way to rescue this fall is to write about the things which interest children more and which they can relate to.
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