My Cat

When Amma sent me that photo of our old tabby from Chennai, something stirred. I'd been grinding through code at andal.io, barely sleeping, chasing PAYBO targets like they'd save me. But that cat's eyes reminded me why I'd left everything—to build something, yes, but not to lose myself. That evening, I video-called home. Amma laughed, said the cat still waited by the window. My Tamil roots suddenly felt less like something vilified in Silicon Valley boardrooms and more like oxygen. Now I code differently, remembering that success means bringing family closer, not further away.