Aarav laughs, deflects, then gets serious. “Maa, I’m thinking of quitting my job. I want to join that startup I told you about. Less money, more equity.”

4:00 PM to 8:00 PM is the Indian version of rush hour, but inside the house.

The real conflict arrives via a phone call. It’s Aunt Usha from Delhi. Rajiv’s sister. She is getting their cousin, Ritu, married. The wedding is in three months. She needs ₹2 lakhs (about $2,400) as a “contribution.”

By 1:00 PM, the household is in full swing. The cook, Kamla, hasn’t shown up because her daughter has a fever. Meena, unfazed, rolls out rotis while directing Nidhi to chop onions. The electricity cuts out—load shedding. The inverter kicks in, but the fan slows to a pathetic spin.

“The dark circles under your eyes don’t lie. Are you eating? Not just that avocado toast nonsense?”

Rajiv looks at Meena. Meena’s jaw tightens. They just fixed the leak in the bathroom roof. Aarav is sending money for their retirement fund, but they don’t like touching it.