It is the evening before Diwali. The diyas are lit, the rangoli is drying near the doorway, and the dining table still looks unfinished — plates are out, the good dinner set is down from the shelf, but the table feels flat. This is usually when a table runner gets pulled out and laid down almost as an afterthought. Yet...

I used to believe there was a secret club for people whose dining tables always looked beautiful. You know the kind of homes I’m talking about. The flowers were never drooping. The candles were always in the right place. Nothing looked forced, but somehow everything worked. Then one day, while helping a friend set the table for an ordinary Sunday lunch, I noticed something...

I have a strange habit. Whenever I visit someone’s home for the first time, I always end up looking at the dining table. I don’t do it intentionally. I always just happen to look at it. Maybe because dining tables tell you a lot about the people living there.  Some dining tables are covered in books. Some have fruit bowls that nobody touches....