“I’ve lived in Chennai all my life.

My college life was supposed to happen in Kerala. I even started there and spent a month before getting transferred to Chennai in the eighth round of counselling. All because of my mom.

Like most girls in their twenties, my relationship with my mom has changed a lot over the years. We fight like it is nobody’s business and when we are apart we miss each other just as much. Breaking away from a conservative mindset is not something most parents attempt because of society. But Amma did that at fifty seven, simply because her children asked.

Getting into NIFT was a turning point in my life. It shaped me in ways my eighteen year old self could never have imagined. Growing up I never felt like I belonged in an academic setup and I hated that I was never doing well in studies. But college was the first place where I was accepted for who I truly was. My creativity was celebrated and I was surrounded by people who saw the world through a creative lens. The foundation for what I do in my career today came from those years.

For the longest time I hated coming back to Chennai after a vacation. A part of me felt like I did not have freedom here. Travelling gave me freedom but not comfort because I was always pushed outside my comfort zone.

But somehow no matter how I felt about it, the moment I entered Chennai, something softened.

It reminded me that it had always been there for me through everything. Kind, comforting and familiar. With the smell of freshly ground coffee in the air.

And that is when it started to feel like home.”