Ten years ago, dinner was storytelling. Today, it is scrolling. A typical scene: Mother is watching a YouTube recipe tutorial. Father is forwarding political WhatsApp forwards. Teenagers are on Instagram Reels. The physical proximity is high (eating off the same steel thali ), but the emotional proximity is fragmented.

Parle-G or Marie biscuits are dunked into cutting chai. This is the only time the family sits down without agenda. The father complains about the boss. The mother discusses the maid’s absenteeism. The children yell about homework. It is loud. But it is together.

As the city struggles against smog and sleep, Mrs. Meera Sharma lights a diya (lamp) in the family temple. The brass bell rings sharply, cutting through the silence. She draws a kolam (rangoli) at the doorstep—not just for decoration, but to feed the ants and birds, embodying the Hindu principle of Ahimsa (non-violence).