Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay

I am Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay.

I began composing poetry and prose from an early age.

True ! An Autism diagnosis closes many doors. One of them was a regular structure of general education classroom.

I needed to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Sometimes the challenges can open other doors to cultivate different interests. I had time to develop my interest in creative writing.

While the typical world of ‘others’ solved problems in arithmetic and structured science homework, studied for grades in classes, learned where the war of Somme happened, I practiced a different skill. I practiced word sculpture by creating stories, writing poetry and other compositions. I engaged in literature - first through Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, William Blake, Robert Frost and many many great writers... learning from each book ‘how to organize stories and poetry’ until I met Dr. Ralph Savarese who mentored me through the process of sharpening my skills. One thing leads to another in the passage of existence.

My first book - ‘Beyond the Silence’ was published when I was 11 years old. The National Autistic Society was kind enough to give me a printed book of my words. Since then I had more opportunities to be published - The Mind Tree, How Can I Talk if My lips Don’t Move, Plankton Dreams, Teaching Myself to See’ and Creating the Faces and Other Poems are some.

I continue to write poetry and prose as part of my own discipline. Everything may not be for publishing. Some may be just a stray text which I call practice writing. I like writing a good sentence now and then.

I am honored to be featured in CNN, BBC, Good morning America, 60 minutes, HBO documentary- A Mother’s Courage, New York Times, Peoples’Magazine, The Telegraph ( UK), Austin American Statesman are some of them.

By the way- I am a fatalist. Some things may happen because that’s how they were staged to be. So the meet up with you was part of the picture that was waiting to happen and not part of a coincidence.

Otherwise out of so many people in the world why would Dr. Richard Mills give me a chance to be published through National Autistic Society when I was eleven? And why would the BBC do a documentary on me?