Personal space is a myth. You do not close your bedroom door if a guest is around. You do not eat a chocolate bar without cutting it into four pieces. You do not take a long shower because "the geyser electricity is expensive."

70-year-old widow (head), her two sons, daughters-in-law, three grandchildren, a pet dog.

No meal in India ends without mukhwas (fennel seeds) or a tiny piece of mithai (sweet). It cleanses the palate and signals, "The war is over. You survived today."