Where do we hide pain? Author and illustrator Debasmita Dasgupta buries it under ochre-toned landscapes, rhododendrons and the mountains. In Nadya (Scholastic India), her first written work that released this month, pain unfolds like a lucid narrative to the reader as opposed to massive shock. Through a family of three — a 13-year-old Nadya and her parents — Dasgupta introduces divorce as a process and not an incident that in popular culture and society at large is still taboo.

Nadya is a well-adjusted child. Together with her parents, she goes hiking in the mountains and takes bicycle trips. Eventually, the happy days are gone and the sounds of parents fighting take over. And one day, her father leaves, promising her that he will be back soon. She knows it's a lie, and equates divorce with permanent damage.