I sat outside and watched it from where you do. I knew that you would have gone into the garden and run around enjoying it thoroughly with all the dogs running behind you, getting wet as well.

I think about you all the time, and I know lots of other people do as well. Everyone loved you. You are so different from all the other young people. You express your love and joy to us. You are empathetic and inclusive, not sure very many children press their Mother’s feet at night or call them to make sure that they have eaten and just want to be with them.

What a fortunate and blessed mother I am.

I’m trying very hard to stay strong and do normal things, because I know that’s what you would have wanted.

You always said, “Mom, please don’t be sad.”

Actor Divya Seth with her daughter Mihika. (Express Photo)

You wouldn’t have wanted to see me drown.

I’m grateful every day that you chose me as your mother and told me before you left, and I was with you.

There are some things in our life. We have no control over. I realise now.

I always thought as your mother I could protect you and save you from everything, but you have your own journey..

In such a short span, you did such lovely work that I was able to make an incredible coffee table book out of it. I’m so proud of you every day. I’ll always be proud of you.

I know I was really hard as a mother, I pushed you and pushed you and forced you to be stronger and utilise all the incredible gifts that you had as a human being, as an animal lover, as a photographer, and as a writer.

I never needed to encourage you to be brave, that you were from the age of 8 when you got sick. After you recovered, even now, other people and me use You as an example, to teach other children about courage and mind over matter.

I see you everywhere, Honey… in the trees, in the bees, the dogs you loved so much, the animals …and when I’m in the jungle, I just feel your presence all around me. All the time.

What first struck my curiosity to make a documentary on this is that the place is frozen in time, the building the same, the menu the same, and a couple of people the same, but still going down some odd 90 years, local people and tourists still love going there. (Express Photo)

My favourite travel buddy

My favourite food buddy

My favourite movie buddy

My favourite

I take your name and I will always take it, with happiness and gratitude.

We talk about your funny stories, your work and eat your favourite food.

I know now, most people will not remember me as Divya Seth,

but as Divya, Mihika’s mother.

See You in the light, Honey.”

The eye in the wild

Mihika Shah, who passed away in August last year, was an ardent animal lover and a gifted wildlife photographer. Both these qualities have been beautifully merged into a coffee table book released a few months ago by her mother and actress Divya Seth. Every page is a testimony to the young girl’s talent, sensitivity, and overflowing kindness for animals.

This project is to show that these animals that look beautiful and majestic in the wild are trafficked and abused for money and illegal purposes. It is important to pay attention to this side of the spectrum as well and show the people who are behind the scenes of the well-being and care of these animals and are the strength behind the shadows of the wildlife world. (Express Photo)

From following a rehabber at ResQ, a shelter for destitute animals, to capturing endearing moments at A W Sindhu Vidya Bhavan, school for special needs children, to making an insightful documentary on Pune’s iconic Café Good Luck, Mihika infused a touch of magic into every frame of these diverse worlds, bringing them alive through her clicks and captions.

The purpose of this shoot is to show that these children may take their own time to learn, but inside sparks a mind speaking in thousands of different colours and emotions. (Express Photo)