'Love is fleeting yet fierce': MBIFL 2026 explores the paradox in relationships

Thiruvananthapuram: The seventh edition of the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters (MBIFL 2026) delved into the complexities of human connections with a session titled “The Paradox in Relationships”. The panel featured writers Latha Balasubramanian, Arundhati Ghosh and Milan Dalwani Vohra, and the session was moderated by Ponnu Elizabeth Mathew.

The discussion explored love as lived experience, rather than a fairytale. Latha reflected on women’s desire and autonomy: “My body is my only property. No rule, no person, not even my husband has the right over it.” She described her book 'The Toilet Seat' as a metaphor for how women’s bodies are often reduced to utility.

Vohra, author of 'Heartbreak Unfiltered’ emphasised the lessons from emotional pain: “Heartbreak is the flip side of love. It’s not gloomy, it’s honest.” She spoke of tracking stories across the globe and uncovering universal truths about love and loss.

Arundhati, whose 'All Our Loves: Journeys with Polyamory in India' explores polyamory in India, framed love as action:“Love is practice. It’s what you do when you give someone the power to hurt you and stay anyway.” She stressed the importance of Indian narratives in capturing local realities.

The panel agreed that love is fleeting and intense, beautiful yet devastating. “Love is as beautiful and as disastrous as life itself,” Arundhati concluded, leaving the audience with more questions than answers, and a renewed honesty about their own relationships.