In Assam, we have no big earthquake, but floods come every year like a slow, hungry guest. Since 3.11, I keep one old steel tiffin with matchbox, salt, and a few dried red chilies tied in cloth—my wife laughs, says "xihor puja" (morning ritual). What I cannot change is my habit of trusting the village bamboo bridge more than any government map; the map shows safe roads, but I know which bamboo groves hold firm when the water rises.

My pension is 6,200 rupees after all the cuts—government takes some, but I don't know for what. The kerosene for my lamp costs 180 rupees a month, so I read only by the library's free wifi now. My wife says the black sesame daal tastes better when I read to her, but I think she just wants me to stop worrying about the numbers.