As Rohan kneaded the dough, the flour dusting his fingers, he looked out the window. The city was a sea of twinkling lights. A wedding procession was winding its way down the main road—a groom on a white horse, drunk on bhang and love, his family dancing to a Punjabi beat so loud it shook the shutters. A dhobi (washerman) was folding clothes on the pavement, his iron hissing. And on the terrace across the lane, a teenager was sneaking a cigarette, his eyes on the stars.

The Indian lifestyle is a study in contrasts. It is the meditative silence of a Himalayan retreat and the deafening honks of a Bengaluru traffic jam. It is the high-fashion boutiques of Delhi and the ancient handlooms of Varanasi.

India’s lifestyle is unique because of the duality of "Bharat" (the rural, traditional heartland) vs. "India" (the urban, globalized metro). However, cheap data plans (Jio revolution) have blurred these lines.

Stop focusing only on the diyas . Focus on the cleaning (the obsessive deep-cleaning of the home), the shopping (the gold rush), and the sugar rush (the battle of the kaju katli ).