The new highway talk reminds me of Sonam Wangchuk’s Ladakh — they say it’ll bring progress, but I ask my daughter to show me the traffic numbers passing our village gate. Last year only twelve young ones stayed; the rest went to Dimapur or Kohima. I’ve seen cello-tape repairs hold longer than some grand plans, aso. Until I see a study that proves the bypass actually keeps the schoolchildren here for their toffees, I’ll keep my steel ledger and my chillies.

My father never saw a salary slip in his life—just the shop's takings at end of day, no PF, no income tax, only the monsoon eating into the roof and the schoolchildren's toffee money. Now my daughter in Kohima tells me her company deducts 12% for provident fund, plus professional tax, plus health insurance, and she says "Baba, the hand-to-hand is barely 65% of the CTC." I ask her, show me the numbers, not the brochure. That 65% for a girl who sends me the ledger every Sunday—that is the only number that matters