Festive Cheer

Meera scrolled through PaybookClub while waiting for her mother's chai to steep. The app glowed softly, displaying her book club's latest selection about Keeladi's ancient Tamil settlements. Her grandmother dozed nearby, clutching old photographs of Chennai streets. As a second-generation diaspora member, Meera felt distant from her roots. But reading about those archaeologists uncovering 2,300-year-old pottery sparked something. She imagined artisans' hands shaping clay, preserving stories across centuries. That evening, she and her grandmother selected the same book. They would read together, bridging continents and generations. Through shared stories, Meera discovered her heritage wasn't distant at all. It lived within her, waiting to be rekindled.