Before the story. Before the secrets. Just the people.

◈ MEERA IYER | the journalist

She looks like — Ink-stained fingers she never fully notices. Dark hair that starts the day in a bun and ends it somewhere else entirely. The kind of face that is always slightly more alert than the situation requires — eyes that are already three steps ahead of the conversation. She dresses like someone who got dressed while thinking about something more important, which is always what happened.

She feels like — The 2am notification you can't ignore. A newsroom at deadline. Strong coffee that got cold because she forgot it was there. The specific electricity of someone who just found the thread that unravels everything.

Her world is — 🎵 Unstoppable — Sia 🎵 Woman — Rihanna 🎵 Salaam Rocky Bhai — KGF 🎵 Run The World — Beyoncé 🎵 Zinda — Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Her colours — Deep burgundy. Ink black. The warm gold of a desk lamp at midnight. Newspaper white going slightly yellow at the edges.

Her space — A desk that is technically organized in a system only she understands. Three notebooks — one for work, one for ideas, one she claims is personal but is also mostly work. A coffee mug with a chip in the handle she keeps meaning to replace. An award she hasn't moved but has turned slightly to face the wall.

In three words — Sharp. Loyal. Unfinished.

The line that is entirely her — "I also have a black belt. In journalism. That's not a thing. I know that's not a thing."

◈ KARAN OBEROI | the man with the file

He looks like — The kind of still that takes years to build. Dark, unhurried, the sort of face that gives nothing away without it feeling like a performance — because it isn't one. He is tall in the way that means the room adjusts to him rather than the other way around. He dresses like someone who thought about it once, decided, and has not revisited the decision. There is a watch on his wrist that is old and expensive and clearly not new, which tells you something if you're paying attention.

He feels like — A locked room you are certain has something important in it. Old money that learned hard lessons. The moment before someone says the thing you weren't ready to hear. Charcoal and cold coffee and the particular silence of a person who is not empty — just selective.

His world is — 🎵 Tumhe Dillagi — Rahat Fateh Ali Khan 🎵 Agar Tum Saath Ho — Arijit Singh 🎵 Bones — Imagine Dragons 🎵 Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai — KK 🎵 Enemy — Imagine Dragons

His colours — Charcoal. Slate. The deep blue-black of a Delhi winter night. One thread of dark red running through everything.

His space — A bookshelf that has been read, not displayed. A desk with a system that is not immediately legible but is, on closer inspection, precise. One drawer that is always locked. One newspaper clipping that is kept flat and clean, like something preserved.

In three words — Still. Precise. Carrying something.

The line that is entirely him — "I'm aware of the laws. I've spent two years learning which ones have flexibility."

◈ VARUN OBEROI | the one with the tea

He looks like — Reliable in a way that is immediately apparent and impossible to fully explain. The kind of face that people trust before he has said anything, which he finds both useful and mildly exhausting. He is built like someone whose job occasionally requires him to be immovable, which it does. He looks like he has slept well, thought clearly, and already accounted for the three most likely ways any given situation could go wrong.

He feels like — A seatbelt clicking into place. The one person in the room who has read the terms and conditions. Strong tea that is exactly the right temperature because he timed it correctly on purpose. The quiet at the center of a storm that is not the absence of understanding but the presence of it.

His world is — 🎵 Tere Bin — Atif Aslam 🎵 Silence — Marshmello ft. Khalid 🎵 Ik Vaari Aa — Pritam 🎵 Comfortably Numb — Pink Floyd 🎵 Khaabon Ke Parinday — Atif Aslam

His colours — Warm grey. Deep brown. The steady amber of tea in a good cup. Muted, grounded, the colours of something that does not need to announce itself.

His space — A kitchen that is used and functional and has exactly what is needed and nothing decorative. A chair by a window he uses when he is thinking. A phone that is always charged because he charges it before he goes to sleep without needing to be reminded.

In three words — Present. Dry. Unshakeable.

The line that is entirely him — "Would you like more tea?" (It means everything. Context is required.)

◈ ADITYA IYER | the brother

He looks like — The person in the room you immediately feel comfortable approaching. Open in the way of someone who never learned to close off and decided, at some point, that this was not a flaw to correct. He has his sister's eyes — sharp, observant — but where hers are always slightly ahead of the present moment, his are fully in it. He smiles easily. He means it every time.

He feels like — Sunday afternoon. A home-cooked meal that someone made because they wanted to, not because they had to. The specific safety of a person who has always, without exception, been on your side. Warm light and open windows and the sound of something good happening in the next room.

His world is — 🎵 Tum Hi Ho — Arijit Singh 🎵 Phir Le Aya Dil — Arijit Singh 🎵 Perfect — Ed Sheeran 🎵 Jeena Jeena — Atif Aslam 🎵 Kun Faya Kun — A.R. Rahman

His colours — Warm terracotta. Saffron yellow. The soft green of plants that are being taken care of. Colours that feel like home.

His space — A kitchen that is genuinely loved — spices organized not by alphabet but by how often they are used, which tells you something about the kind of person he is. A dining table that has seen more than meals. Photographs on a shelf. A phone with too many unread messages because he always means to reply and gets distracted by the next good thing.

In three words — Warm. Trusting. Whole.

The line that is entirely him — "She's fine. She's always fine. She just needs to stop walking into things without telling anyone first." (He says this with love. It is entirely love.)

◈ NAIRA SINGHANIA | the one at the table

She looks like — Exactly what the occasion calls for. This is not an accident. She has the kind of effortless elegance that takes considerable effort to maintain and even more to conceal the maintenance of. She is beautiful in a way that is also somehow very composed — every detail considered, nothing left to chance. She makes you feel, when she looks at you, like you are the most interesting person in the room. She is very good at that.

She feels like — A perfectly set table. Warm light at the right angle. The specific comfort of someone who says exactly what you needed to hear at exactly the right moment. Silk and sandalwood and a smile that you will replay later and find yourself unable to locate anything wrong with.

Her world is — 🎵 Bekhayali — Sachet Tandon 🎵 Channa Mereya — Arijit Singh 🎵 Slow Burn — Kacey Musgraves 🎵 Still Waters — BANKS 🎵 Dil Diyan Gallan — Atif Aslam

Her colours — Ivory. Deep forest green. The cool gold of something expensive worn quietly. Colours that feel curated because they are.

Her space — A home that is beautiful and welcoming and has flowers that are always fresh. A phone she keeps face down when she is with people, which reads as attentiveness and is also something else. A room she goes to alone sometimes, for reasons she keeps to herself, that is the only space in her life that is entirely unperformed.

In three words — Elegant. Present. Considered.

The line that is entirely her — "Of course. Of course. Family." (She says it warmly. She means something by it.)

◈ DHRUV NAIR | the best friend

He looks like — The person you call when something goes wrong and the person you call when something goes right and actually the person you call in between those things too just because you thought of something funny. He has the kind of face that is easy to read — expressive, present, the sort of face that was never built for hiding things. He smiles like he means it. He laughs easily. He makes people feel immediately at ease, which is both a gift and a skill, and with Dhruv it has always been difficult to tell which.

He feels like — A conversation that went two hours longer than planned. The particular warmth of being known by someone — your order remembered, your moods mapped, your stories held carefully. The ease of not having to explain yourself. Familiarity that has settled into something structural, something you stopped noticing because it has always just been there.

His world is — 🎵 Raabta — Pritam 🎵 Tere Jaisa Yaar Kahan — Kishore Kumar 🎵 Die For You — The Weeknd🎵 Tera Yaar Hoon Main — Arijit Singh 🎵 Liability — Lorde

His colours — Warm brown. Familiar blue. The comfortable amber of a place you have been so many times it stopped being remarkable. Colours that feel like someone you already know.

His space — A flat that looks lived in because it is — books not quite shelved, a coffee table with rings on it, a couch that has hosted more late night conversations than it was designed for. A phone that is always on and always answered, at least for certain people. A drawer with things he has kept that he would be hard pressed to explain.

In three words — Warm. Present. Complicated.

The line that is entirely him — "I love you too, you absolute disaster." (He says it easily. He has always said it easily.)(That part, at least, is true.)

Now you know them. Or you think you do. That's how it starts.

— Nyra Ash 🖤