“I grew up in the narrow streets of Thabalpetti near Madhavaram. It was the kind of neighborhood where everyone knew everyone and childhood felt like a shared memory. Those lanes shaped everything about who I would become. Today I work as an educator and a proofreader. My life revolves around words and people. But the road that brought me here has been anything but easy.

My world changed the day I lost my brother. He was not just family. He was my closest friend and my safe space. He took me to movies, games and made everyday moments feel special.

Four days before the release of Deivathirumagal he passed away. Watching that film without him felt like a moment where something inside me quietly broke. What I did not expect was that his friends would slowly step into the role he left behind. They began checking on my family and me. They visited often and made sure we never felt alone. It felt as though life took someone away but gently sent a few others to stand by us.

Soon after that I faced another challenge. I needed a life threatening operation. I was diagonised with Tricobazar. Those same boys stayed with me in the hospital and through the long weeks of recovery. They held my family up in ways that I will never forget.

Life tested me again during the Covid years. First came a diagnosis of TB. Then doctors found a tumour. The sitution made doctors very diffcuilt. They felt i am not supposed to get expose, but they felt these guessing games will not help anymore.
They took their call to make an FNAC test and confirmed the presence of cancer cells. I was diagnosed with Stage 6 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. A lump sat under my chin and the next few months. They found cancer cells being active in 6 differnt places in my body. Then, it became a blur of sixteen rounds of chemotherapy. After my tenth chemo I caught chickenpox. Everything came one after another and the world shifted around me.

I was never someone who loved studying. I always preferred playing. An operation in ninth standard left me with thirty two stitches on my neck and sixteen on my stomach I was told to stay active, not very active. My mother still worried and asked me not to take risks. My studies were average but I enjoyed literature. In my UG third semester something changed and I fell in love with writing. I took literature because I loved reading but slowly I understood how deeply writing connected with me.

My post graduation at Chevalier T Thomas College for Women opened a new world in my mind. I decided to apply for an MPhil. That was also when my cancer results arrived. I called the college and told them I would write the entrance exam but I did not explain the real reason behind my difficulty. When I got selected I finally told them about my diagnosis. They were shocked but they supported me through every stage of treatment and study.

This journey of cancer and then going through chemo and chickenpox while continuing my studies changed everything about how I look at life. Today I value time and health and more than anything I value the people who stand by you without asking for explanations.

Chennai holds all my memories. One of my favourites is walking with my brother while he made up spooky stories about the places we crossed. I believed every word because he was my brother and he was a wonderful storyteller. I have always loved buildings. During college I took a photo of Chennai Central every single time I passed it. I was sure I would never leave this city. Marriage changed that and I moved six hours away. Each time I returned and stepped out of the station I felt the warmth of home wrap around me.

All my firsts are rooted in Chennai. My first friend. My first favourite food. My first visit to the beach. My first big dream. Even my early experiences of hurt and abuse began here. Yet every memory strengthened me. One Saturday in college a friend and I planned something we called A to Z Chennai. I picked twenty six places and visited all of them. I spoke to strangers and discovered new parts of the city along with new parts of myself.

Chennai gave me space to write. It gave me love. It gave me strength to grow. My debut book is set in the very streets where I grew up. That alone explains what this city means to me.

If my life has taught me anything it is this. Pain shapes you. People save you. And in the space between the two you slowly discover who you are meant to be.”