a friend

My grandmother pressed the ancient Tamil manuscript into my trembling hands. "Avvaiyar's wisdom saved me," she whispered, her eyes glowing with decades of devotion. Those poetic verses had become her steadfast friend through unimaginable pain—a diagnosis that nearly desecrated her spirit, yet somehow didn't. She taught me those sacred words, and together we began documenting them. Now, through careful preservation work, I earn meaningful income while honoring our heritage. Each transcription feels like conversation with ancestors. What began as a single friendship with literature has blossomed into something beautiful—connecting our community's past with its future, one story at a time.