“You’re a girl. It’s not safe.” “Baba, I have pepper spray and a friend with a scooty.” “Pepper spray won’t stop a bad intent.” Arjun, chewing loudly, says, “She’s right, but also, he’s not wrong.”

At 5:30 AM, the kettle whistles. Priya pours herself a cup, looks out at the grey Mumbai sky, and smiles. Another day. Another chance to turn chaos into rhythm. She hears Arjun’s alarm go off—and then snooze. She doesn’t wake him. Not yet. In five minutes, she will. Because that’s what families do. They wait. And then they begin again.

Chai is not a beverage; it’s a ceremony. Priya adds ginger and cardamom. They gather on the living room sofa, dipping Parle-G biscuits. This is the unhurried hour. Anjali shows them a TikTok dance. Arjun plays a rough track he produced on his phone. Rajan pretends to hate it, but his foot taps.

The Hour of the Kettle and the Keyboard

Meanwhile, Arjun, at the library, texts the family group: “Ma, the inverter is beeping. Please check.” Anjali, in a lecture, replies with a GIF of a monkey covering its ears. The first person home is always Anjali. She flings her bag, changes into her nightie (the unofficial uniform of Indian evenings), and turns on the kettle. By the time Rajan returns with the newspaper and a packet of bhujia , and Arjun shuffles in with his laptop bag, the tea is ready.

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James is a musician and writer from Scotland. An avid synth fan, sound designer, and coffee drinker. Sometimes found wandering around Europe with an MPC in hand.

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