hen you first
meet Mehul
Bhattacharyya, a
seventh grader at
Xaverian, one thing is abundantly
clear: he has a lot to say. Mehul,
12, and his brother Ruemen, 14 (a
student at Sharon High School), have
been avid storytellers since they were
little, something for which Mehul
credits his father. “When I was four
and my brother was six, my dad told
us stories at nighttime,” said Mehul.
“When my brother turned eight he
started writing his own stories, and
a few years later I started coming up
with my own ideas. I wanted to be
able to tell my stories, too.”
What started as a budding
interest in storytelling has turned
into a full-blown family affair.
Together, he and his brother have
proudly published two books, and
both Mehul and his dad have worked
together to illustrate them. Mehul
said they draw inspiration from the
world around them when they create
their stories. They’re influenced by
movies and books they like, as well
as things that have happened to
A Handful of Hope
Mehul Bhattacharyya ’24 is Writing Stories to Change the World
On April 4, 5, and 6, it will be curtains up on Xaverian’s spring
musical. Join us for a hilarious journey with Curtains, an eight-
time Tony-nominated production, including Best Musical. Set in
1959, this madcap comedy is a play within a play, as the cast and
crew become suspects in their own leading lady’s mysterious
onstage death. Of course, the local detective who shows up to
solve the case also happens to be a musical theater fan. You’ll
be a musical theater fan, too, after joining us in April for the
Xaverian spring musical!
SAVE THE SHOWTIMES
Thursday, April 4 at 7:00 p.m. — Friday, April 5 at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 6 at 8:00 p.m.
them in their own lives.
In 2016, the boys published
a collection of five short stories
titled, “A Handful of Hope.” Mehul
described the stories as having a
consistent message about facing
hardship and coming through
the other side stronger and more
full of hope. They donated the
proceeds from the book to the
Syrian American Medical Society
Foundation (SAMS), an organization
working to support Syrian Refugee
children in Zaatari Camp. They also
sent copies of the book to the refugee
camp for the children to read. “I
hope that if a Syrian refugee reads
this, they’ll know that one day they
can do something big; that future
generations - their grandchildren -
will have a better life,” he said.
In addition to their fundraising
for SAMS, proceeds from their book
sales are donated to local and global
charities of their choice, such as
Raising a Reader (RAR), a national
non-profit promoting literacy.
There’s a good chance we’ll
continue to hear from Mehul in
the future. He’s pretty certain that
no matter what career he has, he’ll
always make time to write. “I think
in my free time I’ll write any idea I
have. Like on the weekend if I’m not
doing anything, I’ll probably just
write a story.”
Mehul and his brother recently
completed their second collaboration
- a storybook called, “A Bizarre
Basket.” Keep your eye out for it on
Amazon!
Winter 2019 Xaverian Magazine 5