(Photo Supplied by Shravanthy Sugumar Karthik)
Venkat Raman
Auckland, September 28, 2024
When Mount Roskill resident Shravanthy Sugumar Karthik received a Certificate from the Canada based ‘Kids World Records’ declaring that her four-year-old Akshara Karthik had been acknowledged for being ‘The Longest Storyteller in the World,’ she was keen to share the moment of joy with people around her.
Importantly, she wanted her National Party MP Dr Carlos Cheung to know.
Dr Cheung was also excited that a young member of the community in his Constituency had achieved a global record.
Remarkable Achievement
“This remarkable achievement at such a young age made your family and friends very proud and you have also inspired the people of Mt Roskill and New Zealand. With your story, ‘The Hungry Bear,’ you are helping other young children to enjoy reading and writing, which will be important for them as they grow up,” he said.
Ms Karthik wanted to meet Dr Cheung as a family but her husband (Karthik Subramanian) had recently undergone surgery and was grounded.
“No problem, I will come over. We are all a family,” Dr Cheung said and did so with his Office Assistant Emran on September 9, 2024.
Ms Karthik said his visit was memorable.
“It was very kind and thoughtful of Carlos and Emran to volunteer to come and meet us at our residence. We had the opportunity to have some afternoon tea and snacks with them whilst gaining some insights into what they do for us and our community. Carlos requested to read and take a copy of the book with him and Akshara was delighted to comply. He brought a letter addressed to Akshara and she gave him a bear painting (done by her) along with a small gift,” she said.
Speaking to Akshara, Dr Cheung said, “Your success shows what can be achieved with imagination, effort and passion. I look forward to seeing where your talents and passions will take you next!”
Ms Karthik said that she had her husband wanted to know about a day in the life of an MP.
“He was very patient and gave an insight into what Dr Cheung and his team do for us and our community every day,” she said.
From our Archives:
The following report appeared in our Web Edition on July 28 and Digital Edition dated August 1, 2024:
Four-year-old Aucklander Akshara Karthik has brought fame for herself and pride and joy to her family, friends and our communities in New Zealand.
She has just been named the ‘Longest Storyteller in the World,’ by the Canada-based Kids World Records on their website. which can be accessed here or at
https://www.kidsworldrecords.com/records/475e6cf3-2d22-4940-a4f9-8d22f6165dea
Her story ‘The Hungry Bear,’ caught the attention of the judges as ‘The Longest Children’s Book’ (with 13 pages) in the Girls’ four-to-six-years Division.
The citation on the website said, “Akshara has a flare for reading and loves sports (swimming). She would like to inspire young children and encourage them to read and write interesting novels.
From Amazon to Kids World Records
That should not have come as a surprise to those who know Akshara as a precocious and studious child and have seen her reading and writing in libraries and at home.
Not long ago, her version of ‘The Hungry Bear’ was published with illustrations on Amazon Kindle worldwide. Illustrated by her mother Shravanthy Sugumar Karthik, the book can be purchased online. Please visit the site or click Akshara Karthik on Amazon.
Ms Karthik said that Akshara had displayed her flare for reading and storytelling even when she was younger.
“Akshara crafted a captivating story called the ‘The Hungry Bear.’ The story was illustrated and published as a book on Amazon Kindle worldwide. This was later reviewed, approved, and published in the Kids World Records website as a record holder (Girls 4-6 Year Old Division Headquartered in Canada). Other record breakers from New Zealand are on their database but none for publishing a book, making Akshara the First Young Author from New Zealand to appear in their Database for her book. ‘The Hungry Bear’ is aimed at young pre-schoolers learning to read sentences and recognise objects/animals,” she said.
Follow The Hungry Bear
The Kids World Records and Amazon said in their synopsis: “A bear is lost in a forest and is very hungry. He encounters a lot of animals and food- but is this enough? Will he get the food he needs or will he stay hungry? Embark on this journey with him to find out what happens.”
About the Karthik Family
Migrating to New Zealand more than 20 years ago, Shravanthy and Karthik are professionals in their chosen fields of activity after completing their school and university education in Auckland. While she is an IT Solutions Architect at a major commercial bank, he is employed as a Product Manager in the automobile industry.
As well as coping with the occupational challenges, both spend time with their young children (their son Advaith is about two years old) ‘giving them a lot of exposure and enabling them to be the best version of themselves.’
“As much as we value education, we place equal emphasis on social and life skills for both our children. We love travelling and exploring new places. We believe that this enables and gives our children opportunities to learn and be exposed to new things including but not limited to different cultures, places, and food and equipping them with life skills they need,” Ms Karthik said.
Mr Karthik believes that the recognition that Akshara has gained would inspire other young children to read and be exposed to other creative opportunities from an early age.
“We found that exposed to audio-visual learning that provides knowledge and space for creativity has enabled Akshara to articulate her captivating story. We are incredibly proud of her achievement and would like to take this recognition in the humblest way possible,” he said.
