Poondithangal is a very small farm located close to the ancient temple town of Kancheepuram in southeastern India, where everyone knows everyone, families have mostly if not solely lived there for generations, and agriculture is the staple. In contrast, Chennai (formerly, Madras), an old cosmopolitan city, not far from Poondithangal, on the coast of the Bay of Bengal, cannot escape from its density of population and structure. Yet people keep in touch, often over food, and undeterred by the traffic.