Savita closes her eyes for exactly two seconds. Then she becomes a logistics manager. She delegates: Rohan will call the mechanic. Arjun will take a USB drive to the cyber café. She will make poha (flattened rice) because it takes seven minutes.
Savita laughs, but her mind is on the ration list. The price of tomatoes has gone up again.
At 10:30 PM, the house settles. Rohan scrolls news on his phone. Savita packs Arjun’s lunch for tomorrow: leftover poha , knowing he will probably trade it for a samosa. Asha falls asleep mid-prayer, her fingers still holding the rosary.
This is the first story of the day: The Resource War . The single geyser. One mirror. Arjun needs five minutes to fix his “fringe.” Rohan needs a clean shave for his IT meeting. Savita needs to wash vegetables. The negotiation is silent, furious, and resolved by 7:15 AM.
