You know da, when I hear about the price of atta in Réunion I think of my daughter’s school fees—every month I tighten the Dzire’s belt, hoping the knees hold out. The retired teacher in my cab says Chennai in the 70s had a cooperative store in every street, run by local aunties, no big company cheated anyone. Maybe that’s what they need there, pa—not another government scheme, just a way for the small man to sell without being crushed.

Ayya, my daughter is preparing for her CA exams, not this考研 thing, but I understand the waiting game da. Every night after dropping her at tuition, I sit in my Dzire near the signal, eating that roadside idli from Annachi’s cart — the chutney is free but the anxiety is extra. You all keep grinding, pa. The government will take its own sweet time with results, but your hard work is the one thing they cannot cancel.