Written by: Karishma S Kaushik5 min readJul 19, 2026 07:00 AM IST First published on: Jul 19, 2026 at 07:00 AM ISTI woke up thinking of the evening that had been. A farmhouse party with friends, that is, my husband’s friends and their partners. An early start to the evening. A riverside sunset with a glass of kokum sherbet. Splash time in the pool and table tennis. Delicious snacks passed around. Followed by dinner.It had, in many ways, been familiar. I had known these friends for years. We had met on many occasions. Evenings had played out similarly. And yet, this one felt different.