Gardening

My grandmother pressed jasmine seeds into dark soil, her weathered hands trembling slightly. She whispered Tamil prayers my mother had forgotten, words blooming like flowers across generations. "Why garden?" I asked, watching her work. "Because some things grow only through patience," she replied. That summer, I discovered andal.io while researching her heritage. A digital space celebrating Tamil women poets felt like finding her in pixels. Through PaybookClub, I connected with others preserving these stories. The jasmine finally flowered in December. When neighbors gathered to admire them, my grandmother smiled. She wasn't just gardening. She was teaching us that beauty multiplies when shared, when we tend to our roots together.