And Yet You Shine

The Kohinoor diamond, one of the most famous in the world, was stolen from India and eventually went into the British hands as they tricked a ten-year-old Indian monarch into parting ways with it. It was then cut into almost half its size so as to conform to British standards of beauty for the crown jewels. The Kohinoor diamond remains on display at the Tower of London museum. It is a reminder of colonization, injustice in how history is recorded, and a blatant display of looted wealth.

Supriya Kelkar’s “𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗬𝗲𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗼𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗱, 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲” showcases the resilience of the Kohinoor through brilliant use of poetic language and an equally gorgeous mixed media collage. In her latest creation, Supriya has indeed left her contemporary illustrators of mixed media art, far, far behind. This book with a bold narrative, and a powerful afternote on decolonization will be one of the highlights of new releases for 2024.

If you believe in never losing your shine, and if you believe that the first step towards decolonization begins with a change in mindset – and you are bold enough to continue with this work in your classrooms – then this book is for you. A very important book for the entire world to read…