About Me — Nayanika Saikia
The dreamer, the writer, and the reader
About Me
Hello everyone!
I have been on Medium for almost a year now, but it is only recently that I came across an About Me story, and just knew I had to write one as well. There is perhaps nothing more perplexing than answering this question the interviewers put in front of you, “How would you describe yourself?”
There is perhaps nothing more perplexing than answering this question the interviewers put in front of you, “How would you describe yourself?”
So let me try and sketch out my condensed autobiography for you all. I hail from Assam, the place which produces the famous Assam Tea, in India. I belong to a family of educators and academics and perhaps that is why I have always been an overachiever all my life. For the longest time, being the best version of myself is the thing that drove me. Well, not really. Let me rephrase that.
For the longest time, I had to be the first. Whatever the scenario may be. I was fiercely competitive and my goal was to always win and make others lose. The best achievement from my school days was when I was a state topper in my Boards and got a full 100 marks in Mathematics! And I ended up getting a laptop from the state government! (Mind you, there were many such students) Not very healthy, now that I’m in my 20s and can look back.
It was my undergraduate days that changed everything. I had just started to study a subject that immensely grounded me and at the same time, gave me wings. Can you guess what it was?
Literature was the sole object of my life that gave me pleasure beyond anything I had ever experienced. And I realized that when I started my undergraduate degree. My undergrad days are truly some of the best I’ve ever had. I loved what I did and I had started to do well because I wanted to do the best I could. Not simply to make others lose. I was doing well and I was happy. I also made it to the Dean’s List which in itself is a pretty big thing! I also ended up graduating summa cum laude which really made me feel happy and accomplished!
I loved what I did and I had started to do well because I wanted to do the best I could. Not simply to make others lose.
From then, it was all about enjoying (and also learning), and being the best version of myself. And it changed me. It forged me anew. I have been in a very good mental place since 2017 and all because I had achieved this level of self-actualization.
Since we’re talking of literature, let me also tell you how my love for it came to be. Back when I was in school (I went to an all-girls Roman Catholic convent), we had these book fairs on Result Declaration Days. And so, being the overachiever I was, I did more or less pretty good in my exams, and my reward would be new books. I suppose the reader will not be surprised to hear that I read a book a day and very soon would finish them all. Perhaps the fact of my mother and aunts being professors and academicians, with multiple authors in the family, made it very much of a privilege for me. I never faced any lack when it came to new books and I have so much to thank for. I remember summer vacations when I and my cousins would all swap books and read the Famous Five, Secret Seven, and all the other books. It was a happy and beautiful time.
Fast forward to 2021, I am pursuing my Master’s Degree in English Literature and I am loving every bit of it. Things have definitely changed. From a very British canonical syllabus, we have moved to a diverse field — reading radical poetry of protest, theatre and progressive writers’ movements, women writing in Asia, Northeast Indian literature, and so on. It has been an amazing experience so far and I am excited for all that I will learn in the coming semesters.
Apart from reading and blogging about books, I also have a bookish channel on youtube — which translates to me being a ‘booktuber’. And let me tell you, I hold this in very high regard! I also blog about books and have a lot of fun clicking pictures and writing reviews on my bookish Instagram account — which translates to ‘bookstagram’.
I have discovered Medium pretty recently, and it has been fun! It has given me the chance to write a lot, to discover my strengths and weaknesses and it’s also made me come across some amazing editors whose feedback has only made me improve.
On that note, I invite you to read my stories and let me know where I can do better, what you enjoyed, and so on. I really believe in giving back the support I get, so you can be sure that I will check out your work too!
My Top Performing Articles
I recently read this Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021 nominated book (it’s a collection of short stories) and I think it is such a mind-blowing book, the likes of which I have never read before!
I read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and I thought it was so powerful in its portrayal of a woman who is flawed and sometimes selfish, but most importantly, how it was a mirror to our own selves.
A short essay that really shook me and made me face a fear that I had repressed for so long. TW: death of a loved one, pandemic times.
I love reading and I love desi dark-academia. I think this story is one of my very best and always transports me whenever I read it!
An ode to my state Assam’s glorious history. Did you know our people were the only ones whom the Mughal army could not invade? We defeated them 17 times!
I think this story really gives you some tips and tricks that work! It was published in February 2021 based on my reading statistics for 2019 and 2020. And as I write this About Me story in June 2021, I have already read over 135 books this year!
A non-fiction essay that really took a lot of courage for me to write. TW: toxic relationships, sexual ownerships, mental health.
I graduated summa cum laude in 2020, amidst a deadly pandemic and I never got the chance to wear the synthetic coat or flip the graduation cap into the air. I possibly missed out on a major life event as did the entire 2020 batch, but this article is written in a tone of hope that I had hoped to emulate in my life then.
Social Media Links
I am Nayanika Saikia and here are my social media links:
Instagram — I am most active here on my bookstagram Pretty Little Bibliophile.
Youtube — I publish a new video every week! Do join and let our love for books flourish!
Blog — My pride and joy!
Twitter — I admit I am pretty new here and still don’t know much of the technicalities!
That’s it then! Let me know what you think! I’d love to make new friends and connect with you all!
