Today was Tuesday. And Tuesday meant two things in the Deshmukh household: no non-vegetarian food, and the weekly video call with Aai (Mother).

She licked the last of the chutney off her thumb. Tomorrow, she would lead a meeting with a client in London. But today, she was a daughter, a daughter-in-law, and a keeper of the Tuesday flame.

At 1:00 PM, the laptop screen flickered to life. Her parents’ faces, pixelated but warm, appeared from their home in Nashik. Her father was already mid-chew.