Girish Dutt Shukla's debut novel Maroon In A Sky of Blue deals with mental health issue

The author weaves an intriguing tale of love, loss and pain through an interesting plot that revolves around a teenager.

Maroon In A Sky Of Blue is a fiction novel that anyone who had or is having a tumultuous teenage life will relate to, identifying themselves with the trials and tribulations of the protagonist.

The novel narrates the story of a teenaged introvert, Onir.

He has only one friend, Lavin, who has been a pillar of strength and support to him for the past eight years.

Onir’s life transforms when Palchinn reciprocates the love he has for her.

But this happy phase does not last long when she dies in a car accident.  Grief stricken Onir meets Ziya who has suffered a similar loss in the past.  As they get closer, he begins to heal.

The tale takes a twist when Lavin finds out the truth about Ziya.

Through Maroon In A Sky Of Blue, the reader will discover the life of Onir and what goes inside that reclusive mind of his, the incident that made it hard for him to be friends with others, the diaries he kept to recollect the past, the authentic bond that Onir and Lavin share, how Palchinn’s demise pushed Onir in that pit of despair, and how Ziya helps him become whole again.

But does she really?

Said Girish Dutt Shukla, “With more and more celebrities breaking the stigma and coming out in the open about their lives, it is critical to talk about mental health and the several disorders that come with it. Maroon In A Sky Of Blue emphasizes the underlying mental disorder Onir is suffering from, even though, on the outside, it is hardly evident. He is aloof, distant, even depressed but the mess his mind has created isn’t conceivable. This is a reflection of a majority of people suffering from mental health problems that never get diagnosed and treated.”

Through Onir’s life, a reader will understand what goes inside the mind of a taciturn teenager who only has one friend and a girlfriend and the importance he gives to the relationships he shares with them.

The fiction highlights the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that Onir is faced with, which makes him uncommunicative wherein he wraps his mind with hopelessness and distress.

Despite the constant support from his friend Lavin, he fails to deal with the loss and suffers a mental breakdown.

The immense pressure from school and work, addiction to social media, and not having enough people to trust are the contributing factors of different mental health disorders.

Maroon In A Sky Of Blue is not only a book for everyone who has dealt with or dealing with mental health issues but also a lesson for others to be compassionate towards such people and look upon mental health issues as seriously as any other form of sickness.

Girish Dutt Shukla is a computer engineer by education and a digital marketer by profession. He regularly contributes to different websites promoting psychology and mental health.

The book, priced at Rs 495 is available on Amazon and Kindle.