Chhasma maakhan jaaye, ane vau phuvad kevaaye.' I learnt the Gujarati adage at the age of nine from my dad who had picked it as a child in Rajkot in the 1940s. For a native Marathi speaker, he was amused by the wisdom packed in the one-liner. A hostess lovingly-intentionally serving butter (along with the buttermilk) to the guest is labelled inattentive. An apt example of well-meaning actions running the risk of being misread.

Over the years, I have applied the idiom to domestic and public settings where the actions of do-gooders have been misconstrued. I haven't so far located its Marathi equivalent, though 'Jyache karave bhale, toh mhanto mazhech khare' (A favour to someone begets an arrogant reaction) comes closest. The last three home-bound months have facilitated my learning of Marathi-Gujarati adages, which advocate the same gyan. For instance, 'Naa bolwa maa nav gun' and 'Zakli mooth savalakhachi' both advocate strategic silence at delicate junctures. They would have proven useful in the current pandemic, which seems to have untied a million tongues; too many people are contributing at cross purposes, when they could have easily held back.