Supriya Kelkar’s new picture book And Yet You Shine retells the story of Kohinoor

“A diamond is a chunk of coal that did well under pressure,” said Henry Kissinger. The Kohinoor, one of the world’s most famous and controversial diamonds, has passed through such pressures: written off from emperors’ treasuries, survived invasions, and ended up in the Tower of London as part of the British crown jewels.

But in Supriya Kelkar’s new picture book, And Yet You Shine, the diamond’s journey becomes more than a tale of theft and colonial conquest — it transforms into a story of resilience, identity, and hope. Published by Scholastic India, this book made its appearance on Indian shelves in July 2025, following its initial release in the United States of America.

The idea came to Supriya, a US-based Indian-origin author, while promoting her earlier book, which explores colonisation. “While I was promoting Strong As Fire, Fierce As Flame, I was looking at its afterword, which has a lengthy historical note in it. There was a section on all the jewels and gemstones that were stolen from South Asia, which made me realise that the story of the Kohinoor Diamond — it was the story of people,” she recalls. “Anyone who’s ever been affected by colonisation, and more broadly, anyone who’s ever felt less than someone, can find themselves in it.”

The book’s narrative unfolds in second person, a style explored by Supriya for the first time. “But since my main character is a diamond, I want the readers to feel associated with it. By using ‘you’, it strengthens that tie between the reader and the story — because it’s our story,” she says.

Representation has always been central to Supriya’s work. Growing up in the USA in the 1980s and 90s, she recalls rarely seeing people of her ethnicity in books or media. “There wasn’t any representation of Indians or South Asians in the US media, other than very racist depictions in famous TV shows. When you grow up without representation, you don’t think your story matters,” she says.

During her school days, she used to colour all of her characters with a lighter skin tone and blonde hair. “As an adult, I realised how important it is that kids of all backgrounds see themselves in books.” Since then, the author has strived to represent all skin tones, including all shades of brown.

The illustrations in And Yet You Shine bring this philosophy to life. Supriya, who is also a mixed-media illustrator, crafts a layered visual tapestry during production by using fabrics, mirror work, and folk traditions such as Madhubani and block printing.

Even her daughter’s broken headbands were repurposed into the swords of the East India Company. “In this book, I wanted to honour the artisans whose works were harmed by colonisation — and how they survived,” she says.

The response in the US has been moving. Children, across borders, have created artwork inspired by the book — from paper diamonds to intricate flowers — and engaged with the history of the Kohinoor. “It’s been moving to see kids taking in the message that they matter, and no matter what, they shine,” Supriya shares.