Kalpana Sai Lakshmi

 There are some love stories that don’t make it to forever — not because they weren’t strong enough, but because they were meant to live in moments, not in timelines. Recently, I found myself swept away by two stories that couldn’t be more different in setting, language, or structure  yet both left a similar ache in my heart. One is a poetic Telugu film called “8 Vasanthalu” , and the other, a beautiful film, “The Oxford Year”  . What connected them for me was this simple yet powerful truth: not all love needs to be loud to be real. In 8 Vasanthalu , love is presence. It’s the kind of love that waits silently in the background, showing up through years and seasons, never asking for anything in return. The man in her life doesn’t profess undying love or fight to win her over. He just stays. Through every change, every heartbreak, every chapter of her life, he’s there. Not holding her, but never letting go either. And sometimes, that kind of love – the quiet, steady kind ...

My very first flight journey began in September 2024 with high hopes, excitement and quite a few unexpected turns. I had originally booked a Lufthansa flight from Bangalore to Munich to Manchester , but I had no idea that I needed a transit visa , even for just a 55-minutes layover in Munich. I found this out only during check-in at Bangalore airport, when the airline staff broke the news. My heart sank because I couldn’t board the flight, couldn’t get a refund since it wasn’t a premium ticket, and I lost nearly £780 . I returned home, disappointed and stressed.  Two weeks later, on September 23rd , I rebooked a different route via IndiGo and Turkish Airlines from Coimbatore to Delhi to Istanbul to Manchester — three flights , but thankfully it was all a connecting flight , so I didn’t have to handle my 50kg of luggage at each airport. Coimbatore to Delhi : This journey was smooth and even a bit exciting. I landed early, checked in without trouble, and got my boarding pas...