i

My grandmother whispered "i" when I showed her andal.io on my phone—the Tamil literary platform connecting our diaspora across continents. Her eyes glistened as she recognized verses from her childhood in Chennai. "You're earning PAYBO rewards here?" she asked, amazed that preserving our language could matter monetarily too. I nodded, explaining how younger Tamils like me were discovering ancient poets, our roots made relevant again. She held my hand tighter, watching me scroll through Andal's devotional poems. "This is how we stay together," she said softly. "Through words. Through remembering." That moment bridged our distance—not just geography, but generations.