Ganguli was raised in Bombay, India. When she came to Amherst four years ago, she left her family and friends behind to travel halfway around the globe. "It's still really scary being on my own," she admitted.
But staying at home meant limited options for Ganguli. "I wanted to study in the states, because in India you have to choose a career or a career goal when you're in the tenth grade," she said. "I wasn't ready to singlemindedly pursue anything at the time."
Child's play
For someone who did not know what to expect when she came to Amherst, Ganguli was certainly an active person on campus. She has been a Student Health Educator for the past four years and a Diversity Educator for the past three. She has also worked for Campus Security as a party monitor since her sophomore year.
During her sophomore year, Ganguli took full advantage of the extracurricular opportunities offered on campus. "I think it's amazing that if you're interested in something you can do it and be appreciated," she said. As co-chair of the South Asian student organization (AIKYA), Ganguli organized the debut performance of what thereafter became AIKYA's annual cultural show. She also collaborated with the Asian Students Association (ASA) to organize the very first Asian Alumni Weekend.
Ganguli has not allowed her heavy extracurricular involvements to sidetrack her from her academics, however. "Amherst has some of the most wonderful professors," Ganguli said. "They always challenge me to think, and they always push me to work harder. I like that. They're also really supportive."
The feeling is mutual. "Antara looks at the world with joy in her eyes and finds it," said her English major advisor and thesis advisor, Associate Professor of English and American Studies Karen Sánchez-Eppler.
With the help of Sánchez-Eppler, Ganguli recently completed her thesis project, a creative literary endeavor entitled "The Buggles." The final product, a children's book primarily intended for young children between the ages of eight and twelve, began as a special topics course during the second semester of her junior year and took her three semesters to complete.
"I never stopped reading children's books," Ganguli said, pointing out a bookcase overflowing with a colorful assortment of children's fiction. "I love them."
And children love her book just as well. "I would bring installments home to read, to the great excitement of my kids," Sánchez-Eppler said about "The Buggles." "I have had a wonderful time working with Antara on her thesis. I love the magic of Antara's mind as she made up this world."
Potential publication
Ganguli said that her novel is "entirely set in fantasy."
"It is gruesome, and funny, and very moving," added Sanchez-Eppler. "Antara tackles big questions of cultural dislocation and loyalty, and the bonds of responsibility that make societies, but always so lightly, carried through conversation, and relation, and lovely details of a world where time sleeps and clock hands curl up to doze."
Someday soon, perhaps, the magic of Ganguli's "The Buggles" will be familiar to more than just those who are lucky enough to know her. In hopes of getting "The Buggles" published, Ganguli sent her manuscript to a few major publishing houses. Already, Harper Collins has expressed some interest and is currently in the process of reading the manuscript.
Though Ganguli is still not entirely sure of what she wants to do in the future, the path before her is certainly clearer than when she first came to Amherst. This summer, she will be interning in philanthropy in a position she found through the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO). Afterwards, she hopes to attend graduate school, where she plans to concentrate on English and child psychology.
Eventually, Ganguli wants to return to her family and friends in India, where she would like to start a publishing house for children's literature. "Most of the literature that children read in India is British literature," she said. "I think it is important that children also read literature that reflects their own culture."