Devita visited me and we started talking. She shared,” I have enjoyed writing from the time I was a toddler. My grandparents were my biggest support and left me happily writing and would never let anyone disturb me. I have always been sensitive to the feelings of others, and would always be there to listen to my friends whenever anyone wanted to unburden themselves”. At my astonished expression, she gave a wry smile, her eyes became serious.
She said, “I know I am only 12, but even at this age, many of us face dark issues, and moments of depression that we cannot share with anyone, not even our parents. Whenever I am going through dark feelings I found that writing them down would help ease the tight hold of pain.” Her mother Nitya, has also been a poet since her teens and her poems are also about the darker shades of life. Not surprisingly she understood Devita’s thoughts and encouraged her talent.
These words are a synopsis of Devita’s book, in her own words.
As per the Oxford Dictionary, grief is defined as great sadness, mainly due to the death of someone you love. But in reality, grief isn’t just loss, it’s doubt, uncertainty, and feeling too much all at once. Untitled in Grief holds that contradiction. It’s not just about mourning but about the heavy emotions that don’t fit into neat definitions. The title reflects that. Some feelings can’t be named, only felt. Grief, pain, and longing don’t always come with the right words, yet we try to make sense of them anyway. Untitled in Grief is for those emotions, the ones that live in the silence between words, too big or complicated to define. I wrote this because I’m tired of how screens numb our emotions. In a world of endless scrolling and distractions, we’ve forgotten how to sit with what we feel. But emotions don’t disappear when ignored. This book exists to break through the noise, to create space for real feelings, and to remind us that not everything in life can be swiped away.
If nothing can name it, then let it be felt, unraveled, and untitled.
Devita Bhatia is 12-year-old student balancing academics with her love for basketball, reading, and traveling. On the court, she thrives on competition, the rhythm of the game matching the beats of her Kanye West-dominated playlist. But beyond sports and music, books are where she indeed finds herself. From Shakespeare’s brooding intensity to Austen’s sharp critiques, she’s drawn to timeless stories that challenge her perspective. Yet, she sees literature fading, lost to fleeting trends and an obsession with screens. In an age where attention spans shrink and mindless scrolling replaces meaningful thought, she refuses to let great stories be forgotten. While digital media offers convenience, she still chooses to write because words have power, permanence, and depth that no algorithm can replicate. More than anything, she writes because she sees how technology has chipped away at confidence, leaving a generation anxious, unsure, and drowning in comparison. Children who once dreamed fearlessly now hesitate, questioning their worth behind filtered screens. So, she writes not just to revive literature but to provide a friend, a voice in the dark that says, You’re not alone. You are more than likes and notifications. Your story matters.
