welcome bonus

Grandmother pressed a crisp note into my trembling hands at the Chennai station. My first poetry collection was published, and Tamil Nadu's literary council had awarded me recognition. She smiled, tears glistening, speaking of my grandfather's forgotten verses. The welcome bonus felt thrilling, yet something deeper moved me. That evening, I read at the local community hall where children giggled at rhyming words, their joy pure and innocent. Elders nodded knowingly, protective of our language's future. I understood then: the true reward wasn't money. It was belonging to something timeless, carrying forward the Tamil voices that shaped our souls, connecting past to tomorrow.