A package from Tiruvannamalai
A package that journeyed over 300 kilometres reached my table last evening. It carried my name and address on the cover. The moment I saw it, saw the squiggly black letters signed ‘Seenuvasan, Keerthana, Tiruvannamalai’, I knew it was a thing of great value. I opened it tenderly, wishing I could freeze the moment. Inside were objects for which my words cannot do justice: A portrait of a little boy on a CD, done on a blue and green background, a painting of a leaf etched on cardboard, another painting, a bigger one, of a flower vase bordered with leaf motifs, a little penguin guy, complete with a black beak and bindhis for eyes! The best of them all, was however, a letter written by the hands of a teenager, on a piece of paper decorated with true-to-life flowers. “Anbulla akka….” It began… I must have read and reread the letter a hundred times. Each time I smiled, each time I cried happy tears. Spontaneous. Pure. Genuine. Only children can be that way.