: Cooking is a central activity. Traditional diets vary by region—rice in the south and east, and wheat-based breads like

Later that night, after the dishes were done and the streetlights buzzed to life, the family sat together on the charpoy on the terrace. Dadaji told the same story about Partition for the thousandth time. Bhabhi passed around a tin of stale biscuits. Amma, in a rare moment of softness, put her hand on Meera’s head. "You work too hard, beta," she said.