Her phone buzzes. Her mother, from the village in Punjab: "Phone kyun nahi uthaya? Sab theek hai?"
The negotiation begins. It is a ritual as old as the Vedas, but the terms have changed. Riya will eat dal chawal (rice and lentils) but will skip the ghee. Kavita will order a rainbow salad from an app, but only if Riya first helps her grandfather in Pune set up his new Alexa device over a video call. video.desifakes.net
In a Mumbai high-rise, the ancient and the digital don’t clash. They share a chair. Her phone buzzes
The flame catches. She places the lamp at the feet of a small Ganesha idol, whose trunk is dusted with real kumkum and whose base is sticky from a morning offering of besan laddoos. Her phone buzzes. Her 19-year-old daughter, Riya, has texted: "Coming. Need lift from station. Also, no roti tonight. Trying keto." It is a ritual as old as the