Grandmother (Dadi) . While the rest of the neighborhood sleeps, Dadi is already in the kitchen. Her hands, wrinkled but steady, measure loose tea leaves, ginger, and cardamom. The whistle of the pressure cooker follows—lentils ( dal ) for lunch must be cooked before the sun gets too high.
The family sits on the floor or around a round wooden table. No one eats until everyone is seated. Often, the mother serves the men and children first. (This dynamic is slowly changing in modern homes, but in traditional ones, the woman eats last). Grandmother (Dadi)
Harvinder (50) wakes. He milks the buffalo. His wife, Gurmeet, starts a wood-fire stove to make parathas and buttermilk. wrinkled but steady