Alisha, Taniya and Ridhima live with their mother, father, and paternal grandparents. Their apartment has a bedroom with a television and a Hindu pooja, or worship, area. The kitchen has a refrigerator and a gas stove, and it is connected to the bathroom and a small balcony that is usually full of drying clothes.
The girls help out with cleaning and sweeping around the house. In India, most homes are cleaned and swept daily. They also help out with preparing and cooking meals. Making Indian tea, called chai, is Taniya's specialty!
The girls' mother works as a maid in the nearby Indian Institute of Technology campus.
RIdhima: "School starts at 8:00 and ends at 1:30."
Taniya: "Alisha and I go to the same school."
Alisha: "It starts at 7:00 and we leave at 2:00."
Ridhima: "I walk with Dadi (grandmother) to school. It is about 15 minutes away."
Alisha: "We go by bus."
Taniya: "It takes about ten minutes."
The girls come home from school to eat lunch.
What is your favorite food?
Alisha: "Daal makhani and kadhai paneer!" Daal makhani is made with a black lentil and kidney beans while kadhai paneer is a spicy tomato-based dish with paneer, a fresh cheese curd.
Ridhima: "Paalak (spinach) paneer, rice, and daal!"
