Every city has one. Actually, more than one. One can always find that imperfect, small tea stall that isn’t famous enough to be located on Google Maps. There would be no signboard, no fancy menu. Just a large, deep-dish, dented chai ka patila set to boil water before sunrise, along with a man who knows exactly how everyone likes their tea. For many, it’s just another tea stall. But for a few, it’s a part of their lives … their daily lives. Many months ago, Mishra ji opened his first tea...

Sameer reached the studio a little after ten. The shutter was open halfway, the morning sun slicing through the narrow entrance and falling across tangled camera wires, tripods, and cardboard boxes filled with old hard drives. The office sat above a tailor shop in one of Gurgaon's local markets. It was squeezed between a dentist’s clinic and a travel agency nobody seemed to visit anymore. The signboard outside read: Frame Found Studio Weddings. Events. Stories. Inside, the air smelled faintly...

Naina’s cup of tea was always strong. Brewed till it was the right color, blended well with the right amount of milk and tea leaves. The sugar had to be just the perfect amount, not too much, not too little. She exhaled a long sigh after taking the first sip. Naina stood in her kitchen in Singapore, a cup in her hand, staring out the window as the city hummed below her. It was distant, orderly, and efficient. The kind of place where nothing spills over. Not time. Not emotions. Everything was...