The Joss's flat in Chembur has had two less visitors since the lockdown began: their cook, Jyoti Jadhav, and the house-help, Asha Waghmare. And while absence is said to make the heart grow fonder, the lack of maids, has had this family eat out of their own hands.

Where Jyoti would make piping hot chai and garma garam poha or omelette for breakfast, followed by lunch, and Asha handled the dishes and cleaning, these tasks have now been taken over by Sonya MH, homemaker and mother to two girls, aged six and two. The former banker has had a chock-a-block schedule for the last two months—it's the busiest since marriage, having to manage all the household chores, while looking after the children. That she has help from her husband, Jake Joss, who is working from home, and sister-in-law, Tess, who is living with them, has made the lockdown slightly bearable.

While it is the house-helps that run the show in most homes in Mumbai, social distancing norms have forced many housing societies to ban their entry.