"Papa, I need ₹5,000 for a school trip," says the teenager. "Last week you said you hated school trips," the father replies. "That was before Rohan booked the resort," the mother sighs. Laughter erupts. The patriarch, who seemed stern all day, breaks into a smile. He transfers the money via UPI (Google Pay) in ten seconds. Old money meets new tech.

Meanwhile, in a high-rise apartment in Mumbai, a young mother checks her phone. She orders groceries via an app, then lights a small diya (lamp) in the family shrine. Her husband is already on a Zoom call with New York. Their teenager scrolls through Instagram, earphones in. Three generations, three worlds, under one roof. That’s India.

praise it for its "sure and steady control of language" and its portrayal of the "American survival story" through an Indian lens. An Ordinary Life by Ashok Lavasa