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Home 91
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Varanasi location map

It took us a while to locate the house. We spent a good 20 minutes, probably more, walking in and out of the narrow lanes, looking for house numbers. When we found the right house, we saw a low compound wall with a break in the middle to accommodate an iron gate. The concrete house was designed in a way common to Hindu houses; multi-storied, not overly ornate, but very large. M’s daughter-in-law, T, answered the door in a simple cotton Salwar Kameez with a dupatta draped over her shoulders and led us to another low iron gate which opened into a small courtyard dotted with money plants growing in the pots which lined the compound wall. A few more steps past the courtyard led us into the first room of the house, which was M’s office and where he ran his legal practice from. The room was simply furnished with a large office table and three chairs for clients.

M lived with a large family made up of his children and their spouses. The family was quite entrepreneurial, capitalising on M’s wife superior culinary skills to develop and market their own recipes. The younger women of the house were well-educated and confident but also clearly mindful of the demands made of a conservative Hindu wife. M himself was revealed to be a social and opinionated man who spoke regularly on social forums and wrote articles for various Hindi magazines.