While urban areas are seeing a rise in nuclear families, the remains a powerful cultural ideal.

The father kicks off his shoes—shoes are never worn inside an Indian home, a literal boundary between the polluted outside and the sacred inside. He immediately changes into a kurta or track pants. The armor of the office drops; the family man emerges.

The is noisy, demanding, intrusive, and exhausting. But it is also the safest safety net on earth.