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Over generations, teenage angst has been one of the toughest  issues to deal with. Perhaps the use of the phrase itself might be a dangerous dismissal, obscuring serious matters. Childhood ends, removing the protective covers from a murkier reality, leaving youngsters to cope with issues that they are yet unable to fully comprehend.

Tough as this phase is, it is also a wonderful opportunity to mould young minds to be sensitive, and to take decisions that will make them better citizens and kinder human beings. Paro Anand’s book Like Smoke: 20 Teens, 20 Stories treads in this difficult territory, offering teenagers a window into a less than palatable world.

The stories deal with horrifying images of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, insurgency in Kashmir and loss of lives due to terrorism, communal tensions that appear without violence but break social bonds nonetheless.