A stroll through the latest exhibition at The Designera in Lower Parel feels like a stepping into someone’s bedroom, an intrusion into the most personal recesses of someone’s life. Watercolour paintings adorn one wall, large exhibits another. All of them tell the story of one person; Swara Bangad.

Swara was 25-years-old when she was lost to suicide a year ago, on the occasion of Gudi Padwa on March 22, 2023. The day began on a normal note; she went up to the terrace of her house in Akola, raised the traditional Gudi—and then took the extreme step. Her shattered parents had no idea how to deal with the shock. Neither did her aunt Sheetal Gagrani, a UK based consulting Radiologist, who is a Mumbai native and was Swara’s favourite aunt. Her husband, Bhushan Gagrani, is the current Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai.